Trapped in the Friend Zone
by MsBlackOut
Summary: Marinette has known Adrien for years now and still she seems to be no closer to escaping the friend zone. Yet after a heart to heart with Chat Noir as Ladybug, Marinette notices that Adrien's attitude seems to be changing. Is Adrien finally realising what's been in front of him the whole time?
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One_

"She's just a friend," the words echoed in Marinette's head. She glanced at Adrien who was busy talking to a guy he'd just introduced her to. Even though he'd said the guy's name thirty seconds ago she'd already forgotten, she was too focussed on those last words. Her heart sank and finally broke. After five years she was permanently relegated to the friend zone.

Since finishing high school Marinette had made sure to keep in touch with her crush. He'd happily agreed to a monthly catch up over coffee and it had been her highlight but not anymore. The reality was Adrien couldn't see her as anything but a friend. She looked into her half empty coffee cup with a frown. Maybe it was time she moved on.

When Adrien eventually wrapped up his conversation with what's-his-name Marinette had made up her mind to leave early. Adrien turned back to her with his usual warm smile and she discovered the butterflies in her stomach had finally died. "Sorry about that, Jean-Luc was doing the lighting for the photoshoot yesterday."

Her smile didn't meet her eyes, "That's nice."

His eyes narrowed, "Is everything alright?"

"I just realised I need to be somewhere. Sorry but I need to go," she pulled out her purse and placed what she owed on the table.

He frowned, "Uh okay. If you're free later maybe we can-"

"Maybe but I've got to run," she stopped to take her last long look at him, "Goodbye Adrien."

* * *

The afternoon dragged and it wasn't until Marinette left work that she checked her phone. She was surprised to find a number of texts from Adrien. It seemed he'd worked out he'd done something to upset her but he'd been so blind to her true feelings that she decided it wasn't worth trying to explain to him.

She was placing the phone back in her bag when it rang. She answered it when she saw it was Alya calling. There was something conniving in her friend's voice when she asked, "Are you free tonight?"

"What are you up to Alya?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd invite some friends over for dinner."

She raised a brow, "Which friends?"

"The ones you're always keen to see."

Her voice was flat, "You mean Adrien will be there."

Alya let out a defeated groan, "Yes. Wait you don't sound excited."

"I'm not, something happened today that made me realise Adrien is never going to reciprocate my feelings."

"You don't know that."

"Alya it's been five years and I've made zero progress. If he felt anything more than friendship he would have made a move by now."

"He isn't dating anyone Marinette. We know his social skills can be lacking at times."

"Maybe he's gay."

Alya chuckled, "I don't think so."

"He may as well be."

"I think you need to tell him how you feel."

Marinette shook head, "I'm done Alya. I'm sick of being tied in knots and I'm not going to add yet another box of disappointment to the warehouse."

"So that's a no on dinner too?"

"I won't be coming, so no."

"Okay but if you need someone to talk to, give me a call."

"Will do."

* * *

Later that night Ladybug made her way along the skyline of Paris. The cool breeze was pleasant as she travelled. As usual Chat Noir was waiting for her, his back was turned to her as he observed the street below. She took her time walking to him. Her akuma fighting partner had certainly grown up since their first meeting. He was no longer the lanky teen, he'd filled out and shot up. These days he had a physique of an athlete which wasn't surprising with the amount of exercise they endured through akuma fights.

His head turned as she sidled up to him and rested her arms on the stone edging. "Good evening milady."

"Hey kitty, find anything interesting tonight?"

He turned to face her, "The most interesting thing is your arrival."

She shook her head and chuckled, five years together and he was still a flirt. She looked up at him as she considered that. Despite her constant rejection Chat Noir had never stopped flirting. It made her wonder, did he want her the way she'd been pining for Adrien? She wasn't sure how long she was looking at him but his face turned serious, "This is the part where you push me away."

She laughed, "I do that a lot don't I?"

He cocked his head as he scrutinised her, "Yes you do." She sighed and looked to the street below. He continued to study her, "Is something on your mind?"

"I was thinking that perhaps we're more similar that I originally thought."

He shifted closer, "Oh why is that?"

She looked into his luminescent green eyes that were as familiar as her own, "I think we're both hopeless romantics longing for the love of someone who doesn't seem interested in returning it."

He stepped back with a look of shock, "You're in love with someone else?"

She looked away from him, "Was in love. He was too stupid to notice or maybe it's me who is stupid."

His hand touched her shoulder and he caught her eye, "You're not stupid it's definitely him."

She laughed, "Thanks Chat." She patted his hand and smiled, "I should have fallen in love with you instead. At least I would have known I was loved back."

"Hey I'm not going anywhere. You can fall in love with me right now. I'm cool with that."

She grinned, "Are you even serious? You are just a big flirt, right?"

The playfulness left his features, "Is that what you think?"

"That's what I've always assumed."

He rubbed the back of his neck, "My social skills have never been fantastic and I always thought flirting the best way to get your attention without seeming… creepy. I enjoy the banter between us but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want more out of our partnership."

It was the first time she'd ever seen Chat Noir looking nervous. She decided to be blunt, "You want to be lovers."

He straightened, his eyes widened and his cheeks darkened, "Y-yes."

She shook her head and grinned, "You don't even know who I am beneath the mask. I could be hideous."

His laugh was a little garbled, "I don't think that's possible." He looked at his twisting hands then back at her, "You could show me."

"Not tonight Chat."

His shoulders sagged, "Okay." He continued to study her, "So who was the guy?"

She glanced at him, "You'll laugh if I tell you."

"No, I won't."

She turned to lean on the stone wall and eyed him for a moment, "Adrien Agreste."

His mouth dropped open and jutted as he tried to speak.

"Before you say anything, I'm not some random fan girl I actually know him quite well. Unfortunately, I've been parked in the friend zone for years."

"You're friends with Adrien Agreste."

"Yes, I thought we'd established that."

"When did you last see him?"

"Today, why?"

"When during today?"

She crossed her arms, "Chat Noir I hope you're not planning on doing anything stupid."

"No, I think I've got stupid in the bag already."

She shook her head, "Let's drop this. I told you I'm done crushing on him." She'd expected an ecstatic grin from Chat Noir but instead he looked depressed.

* * *

The following morning Marinette was surprised to hear a knock at her door. Tikki immediately flew into her handbag at the noise. With a piece of toast in one hand Marinette peered through the spyhole to see Adrien outside. She opened the door and he presented her with coffee, "Morning I thought I'd come to you since you had to leave early yesterday."

Her chest tightened as she took the cup tray from his hand and a sense of guilt came over her, she hadn't answered his texts. "Uh thanks Adrien," she didn't really want to invite him in but felt rude not to, "I'm just getting ready for work but you can take a seat if you like."

He nodded enthusiastically as he stepped across the threshold, "Thanks Marinette."

She tried to ignore the way he said her name, it was different to normal, like it had suddenly become something special. She took a bite of her toast and closed the door. As she turned Adrien was sliding his coat from his shoulders. The stance seemed unnatural, more like a photoshoot pose than a realistic way to remove a coat. His long-sleeved black shirt was fitted and left little to the imagination. If she didn't know better she would have thought he was putting on a show. "Have you got a photoshoot today?"

He frowned, "No why do you ask?"

She shrugged, "You just look dressed up."

He smiled, "Thanks."

She turned her attention to the coffee tray, "Which one is mine?"

"This one," he said handing her the cup on the left. His fingers brushed hers as she took the cup and she forced herself to ignore it. She made sure she didn't look at him as she took a sip.

"So, what are you up to today?" she asked as she sat down.

"Study mostly, I'll be at home playing catch up."

She looked at her watch, "I've got to finish getting ready."

"Okay I'll wait here."

"You don't have to stay."

"I thought I'd walk you to work."

"Um okay," her eyes searched his face as she finished her toast and left him in the kitchen. Something was different with Adrien but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. She quickly cleaned her teeth and slipped on her jacket. As she walked out Adrien shot to his feet and gave her a smile she couldn't interpret.

"Ready to go?" he asked sounding a little breathless.

She gave a nod as she picked up her handbag, "Yeah I'll just grab my keys."

He picked up both their coffees and waited for her to lock the door before handing hers back. Again, his fingers brushed hers and she looked at him curiously. A faint blush tinted his cheeks, she had to be imagining things. Adrien had made it pretty clear she was just a friend. "Hey um, I was wondering if you've got any plans for Valentine's Day?"

Her eyes widened, "Uh no."

He rubbed the back of his neck the way he always did when he was nervous, "Would you like to go on a date with me?"

The butterflies in her stomach suddenly returned to life. She cocked her head to the side and her eyes narrowed, she had to be reading this wrong. Adrien was probably trying to make up for yesterday. "What did you have in mind?"

"I thought you could come to my place, I'll cook dinner and we could watch a movie," he said as he shifted closer to her.

By all accounts it sounded like a date but she'd done something similar with him before and there had been zero romance attached to it. Yet there was something in his eyes that made her wonder if this time was going to be different. "Okay sounds good. Should I bring anything?"

He shook his head and smiled, "No I've got it covered."

As they moved away from her door she swore she saw him do a small fist pump and really began to wonder if she was dreaming. Maybe she'd woken up in another dimension this morning. She found herself unconsciously reaching for her earrings to check they were there.

"Something up?" Adrien asked as he looked at her hands.

"No, I just wondered if I had my earrings on."

He lifted a hand and tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear, "You didn't forget. They're there." His fingers continued down and gently caressed the skin on her neck before he withdrew his hand.

"Okay who are you and what did you do with Adrien Agreste?"

"Huh?" he said as his brow furrowed.

Crap she'd said that out loud. "You don't seem yourself today. You're much more… attentive."

He looked away and rocked on his feet, "I guess I finally noticed something that's been under my nose a long time."

"And that is?"

He swallowed as he looked up, "You."

The coffee threatened to slip from her fingers, "Care to elaborate?"

His lips tightened, "Well… I realised something yesterday." She lifted a brow as she waited for him to continue. He took her elbow and started them walking again, "I want to get to know you better."

That was ambiguous, she could take what he said a number of ways. Normally her heart would race deciding this was finally it, that Adrien had noticed her the way she wanted him too. But she'd been mistaken so many times in the past when he said or did things which led her to thinking that maybe he was crushing on her too and then would come the famous last words: Marinette is just a friend. Still it beat being alone on Valentine's Day, didn't it?

* * *

 **Thanks for reading so far. I thought it'd be fun to start something with Valentine's Day on the cards. What will happen next? Stay tuned :)**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

Adrien couldn't stop staring at Marinette. While she was one of his long-term friends he never really looked at her closely until now. After last night's revelation, he was gazing at her with new eyes and picking up things he hadn't noticed before. There was the faint dimple near her mouth on the right side when she smiled, just like Ladybug's. There was the way she scrunched up her nose when she wasn't sure of something, just like Ladybug. But it was her eyes that should have given it away, her amazing soulful blue eyes. Eyes he could easily drown in if he gazed into them for too long. Eyes that he'd desperately wanted to see filled with passion for him and they'd been in front of him for years.

Now that he knew it was difficult for him to hold back his affection. He was finding any excuse to touch Marinette and it was the gentle caress from her ear down her neck that had caught her attention. He wasn't acting the way he normally did around her and she didn't understand why. As he tried to explain he could see her mentally rebuffing him. She seemed to be under the belief that he couldn't see beyond their friendship and until last night that was true. He'd been so under Ladybug's spell he'd failed to notice her alter ego.

Marinette was quiet now and he could see her mulling over what he'd said, "I want to get to know you better."

"What do you want to know?" she finally asked.

"We only catch up once a month and while I know a lot about you already, I suspect there's a heap I miss hearing about. You're one of my closest friends and I'd like us to get closer." He hoped he wasn't pushing too hard.

She turned her head to look at him and his heart lurched, how could he have missed how beautiful she was? Her dark hair was hanging slightly in her eyes as she watched him. Her face had lost some of its roundness of her teens and made her look more mature. She was also more confident in the way she held herself, it was like her Ladybug persona was seeping into her everyday form. His fingers itched to touch the smooth skin of her face. How had he ever resisted before?

She lifted her free hand and combed her fringed away so it sat neatly over her eyebrows. He almost whimpered at the missed opportunity to caress her again. She cleared her throat, "Are you saying you'd like to catch up more often?"

That was the understatement of the year. "Yes. I'd like to see you at least weekly," he figured it was too soon to ask for daily. Besides he saw her at least twice a week as Chat Noir but she hadn't put the pieces together on that puzzle.

"Why?" she said looking perplexed.

He swallowed as he considered how to answer. At this stage, it seemed too precarious to reveal that he was her miraculous wielding partner. Especially after what she'd said about giving up on her crush. He didn't want her to think his interest had been piqued by pity. "Being who I am means there's a lot of people I can't trust. So many want a piece of either my wealth or fame that it's hard to know who is genuine and who is not. I know you're the real deal Marinette. You're honest, kind and…" he paused as his voice dropped, "…beautiful. It's hard to find someone as amazing as you."

She stopped walking and stared at him, "B-but why is that so important now?"

"As I said, I had something pointed out to me recently that I'd been too blind to notice before. I see it now though. I see you."

Her eyes widened, "Um looks like we're almost at work."

He frowned, he had pushed too quickly. "Yeah, I guess this is where we part. My text books await," he said with a smile.

"Okay well have fun with that," she smiled back.

He couldn't resist picking up her free hand and kissing her knuckles, "I'll try, milady."

* * *

Marinette's eyes were as wide as saucers at Adrien's last comment. She shook her head, for a moment she considered that he was secretly Chat Noir but that seemed unlikely. Yet Adrien's behaviour had been out of character. Who had pointed out this sudden blind spot? It was too much to think about when she needed to shift into work mode.

She did her best to concentrate but throughout the day Marinette found herself analysing everything Adrien had said that morning. In her lunch break she'd taken the opportunity to call Alya and they dissected what had happened. Alya seemed convinced that this was it, Adrien was finally making a move but Marinette wasn't so optimistic. "Alya I just don't buy it. Why the sudden change? Yesterday when we were out for coffee it was very clear he thinks of us as just friends. What could happen within a few hours for him to change his mind?"

"You walked out on him. Maybe that was the eye opener he needed."

Marinette's top lip curved upward sceptically, "It still doesn't seem enough of a catalyst to change his view on me. He sent me a heap of text messages apologising for talking to his friend from work while we were out but that's typical Adrien."

"Did anything else happen?"

Marinette sat considering it. She couldn't think of anything else that occurred between them which could have changed his perception that day. Yet her mind returned to the weird way Chat Noir had responded when she'd told him about her crush. Her eyes widened, could Chat know Adrien? Did he say something to him? Her teeth ground together, it would explain the hand kiss Adrien had given her along with his comment.

She snapped out of it as she realised Alya was prompting her on the other end of the phone. "Sorry I was thinking."

"That's okay I'm guessing you're drawing a blank."

"You could say that. Anyway, I've got to go."

"Let me know if anything else happens."

Marinette smiled slyly, "I'll keep you posted."

* * *

As much as Adrien tried he just couldn't focus on his study. His mind continually wandered making it impossible to be productive. He decided to take a break and regroup. Plagg was lying on his back snoring within an empty cheese box. A stray crumb was attached to one of his whiskers and Adrien couldn't help but chuckle as he walked by. His kwami stirred with his arms and legs twitching before he collapsed back to sleep. Adrien found himself wondering if Ladybug's kwami behaved just as oddly. Somehow, he suspected not.

He rolled his eyes, he'd done it again. His thoughts continued to gravitate back to her. He hadn't been this distracted by Ladybug for a long time. He still couldn't believe what she'd said the night before on patrol, that she'd been in love with his alter ego. He'd wanted to shed his transformation as Chat Noir then and there to show her the truth but he'd held back. She'd always been committed to keeping their identities a secret and revealing his so openly wouldn't have been a clever idea. It also occurred to him that Ladybug had never been enamoured with Chat Noir so he was better off working his charms outside the masks.

He wondered what she would think if she knew how excited he was, he'd secretly been denying his own little crush on Marinette for some time. If he'd realised she was Ladybug sooner he would have been pursuing her relentlessly. To think Ladybug had been right under his nose for years, suffering from unrequited love just has he had because she didn't know that he was Chat Noir. He shook his head, they could have been a couple for years now if she hadn't been so stubborn but it was one of her traits that he found so attractive.

Adrien froze mid step as he heard his phone ping. He immediately bolted for it, knowing by the sound that it was an akuma alert. Plagg opened a drowsy eye, "What is it now?"

Adrien skimmed the message, "An akuma that shoots flaming cupcakes. She apparently goes by the name of, wait for it… Hot Cakes."

"Oh man, Hawkmoth needs to rethink these names. They're terrible."

Adrien laughed, "Yeah they are but anyway, Plagg claws out."

Plagg let out a protest as he swirled into the ring miraculous and Adrien magically transformed. Chat Noir was still grinning as he climbed the stairs to the loft and exited via the rooftop. He quickly vaulted his way to the plaza where Hot Cakes was busy ranting and tossing her fiery cupcakes. Oh, there were so many puns running through his mind. "Hey hot stuff, why so crummy?"

At his shoulder, he heard a groan and turned to see Ladybug standing beside him. "Why do I get the feeling there's going to be a lot of puns during this fight."

"Because there are many delicious possibilities," he grinned showing his perfect teeth as he ducked under a flaming cupcake aimed at his face.

She shook her head and began spinning her yoyo, "How about we focus on finding where the akuma is."

"Don't worry I won't _dessert_ you."

"Ugh," Ladybug said with an eye roll as she leapt from the building. Hot Cakes launched a volley of fireballs at them which they both deflected as they flanked her from either side. Hot Cakes was a larger lady with bright green skin, purple hair and wore a pink dress with a yellow frilly apron over the top. She began to levitate off the ground and her hands glowed. As the light intensified Ladybug noticed the cupcake shaped name badge on her apron, it was the most probable location for the akuma. "Chat Noir go for her name tag," she called.

"Piece of cake milady," he smirked.

She ignored him and sent her yoyo flying, wrapping it around Hot Cakes' ankle and pulling her down. Chat extended his staff, lifting himself into the air and reached for the name tag. By this stage a multitiered cake had materialised in Hot Cakes' hands. Dozens of misshapen candles burnt with a blue flame.

Chat's eyes widened as he realised Hot Cakes was going to throw it at Ladybug. He instinctively launched himself towards Ladybug and tackled her into a roll as they hit the ground together. They tumbled across the stone pavement clinging to one another as the exploding cake brought down the front of a cluster of buildings. Chat winced as he felt something hit his back. They came to a stop as a large metal awning dropped over them. Ladybug shrieked as she hit her head on it and his arms tightened around her, "Are you okay?"

She was breathing heavily as she lay on top of him and it took all his restraint not to purr. "I'll live," she said as she probed her scalp with her gloved fingers. When she was done she began to turn her head and yelped as she whacked it again.

Chat frowned as he realised it was too dark for her to see within their confined position. He lifted his hands to cup her face, "Don't move or you'll hit your head again." She stilled and her eyes blinked blindly in his direction. He sucked on his bottom lip as he looked at her face so close to his own. He lifted his head as his gaze drifted to her lips, "Ladybug can I ki-"

There was a harsh screech of metal being bent. "Quick Chat, use your cataclysm."

He let out a sigh and dropped his head back. He lifted his right hand, "Cataclysm." The familiar thrum went through his glove, he outstretched his fingers and placed them on the debris above. He watched as his power of destruction dissolved the rubble around them. He squinted his eyes as they were exposed to the bright light.

Ladybug wasted no time in pushing off him as she returned to the fight. He grimaced as he stood and placed a hand at his back. Whatever had hit him had left a large bruise under his costume. He snagged his baton and played the distraction while Ladybug summoned her lucky charm. He sniggered when a pair of oven mitts appeared. "Am I too hot to handle?" he grinned.

She threw him a withering glare then turned her attention to Hot Cakes. He continued taunting the akuma while he left his partner to work out what to do. It didn't take her long to move into action, as she hooked the oven mitts over Hot Cakes' hands he used his staff to knock the name tag from her apron. He tossed it to Ladybug and she quickly dispatched the corrupted butterfly. He was thankful when she threw the oven mitts in the air and called, "Miraculous Ladybug." The wave of magical ladybugs circled him briefly and he felt them heal his bruised back. He let out a sigh as his body slumped in relief.

He straightened up when he heard his name called. He turned to see Ladybug racing up to him but glanced away as his miraculous gave another beep. She was panting when she reached him to do their usual fist bump. He lifted a masked brow as she continued to stare at him, "What's up?"

She gave him a hard look, "Do you know Adrien?"

His eyes widened, "Um well…"

"That's a yes?"

He tried not to squirm under her gaze and he dipped his head. His fists clenched, "Sort of. But now's not really the time to chat." He said holding up his ring to show it only had two paw prints left. Then he dashed away before she could ask him anything else.

* * *

 **Hehehe, I can't wait for Ladybug to interrogate Chat Noir... stay tuned. Thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows. Cheers :)**


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

Ladybug let out a frustrated groan as Chat Noir disappeared. Now really wasn't the time to interrogate him but still she wanted answers. His hesitant responses indicated he knew more than he was letting on but for now she had to get back to work before they noticed she was missing. Luckily her current position allowed her some flexibility as she often had to run errands to pick up trial materials for new designs. She'd long since established an emergency stash of items she could take in after an akuma fight to ensure she had a reason for being absent. With one last frown in Chat Noir's direction she made her way home.

* * *

Chat Noir took the long way home and continually glanced over his shoulder to make sure Ladybug wasn't following. He knew he had to go into damage control as she suspected something although he wasn't quite sure what. When he arrived as his apartment he quickly transformed and sent Marinette a text. _I heard there was an akuma attack near your work, are you okay?_

He tapped his pen against his note pad as he waited for her reply. _I'm fine._

He raised a brow, Marinette's texts were usually longer and left open to initiate further conversation. He was going to have to push. _About this morning…_

 _I'm going into a meeting. Talk to you later._

Adrien frowned but at least it explained her terse answers. He sighed and returned to his study while Plagg raided the fridge.

* * *

Late in the evening, Chat Noir was in the final stages of his patrol when he spotted the familiar red form of his partner. Normally he would have been thrilled to see her but instead he felt a sense of trepidation. Marinette had never gotten back to him as Adrien. As he watched her draw closer he decided there was no point in running, if she wanted a confrontation it was better to get it over and done with now. He'd been mulling over what to say to her and he hoped he could navigate his way through her questions without slipping up. As she landed on the rooftop he was surprised by the aggressive set to her shoulders as she stalked towards him. "You," she said lifting a pointed finger and backing him up against the wide brick chimney. "You have some explaining to do."

His cat ears twitched as he raised his hands in surrender, "Alright. What am I explaining?"

"How do you know Adrien?" she demanded as she placed her fists on her hips.

He looked away from her, "I can't tell you as it would compromise my secret identity."

She lunged forward and her hands slapped the bricks on either side of his shoulders. Her face was thunderous as she glared up at him, "You may have compromised my identity, Chat."

He swallowed as he flattened himself against the chimney, "I swear I haven't said anything to expose you."

She narrowed her eyes, "Then why did Adrien turn up on my doorstep first thing this morning?"

His voice lilted with innocence, "Because he wanted to see you."

Her masked eyebrows dropped to shadow her eyes, "He's never been so eager before."

"Well I'm always eager to see you, although I prefer it when you're not so angry."

She rolled her eyes, "Enough with the flirting, Chat."

"But you're standing so close to me, how am I supposed to resist?"

She pulled her face away from his and pinched her fingers to the bridge of her nose, "Do you know Adrien?"

He studied her for a long moment then gave a single nod.

"Did you say something to him about my…" she winced, "…crush?"

He shook his head then his masked eyebrows pulled together, "Wait you still have a crush on Adrien?"

"Ex-crush doesn't sound like a real word."

"Oh," he said as he glanced away, when he looked back a smile spread across his face. "You know if you're not crushing on him anymore we could get together."

Her eyes raked over him as if she was considering it and his chest tightened. "That would make things far too complicated," she said quietly.

Then her anger seemed to reignite and she was back up in his face, "This isn't about us, Chat. I need to know why Adrien is acting so differently after I spoke to you."

Her nose was mere millimetres from his and his eyes locked with hers. "I didn't tell anyone what you said."

A muscle under her eye twitched, "You did something though, didn't you?"

He tilted his head slightly and the tip of his nose brushed hers, "I just listened."

"To what?" she snapped.

He pressed his lips together, "To my lady and my heart." He moved in to kiss her but she backed off. His teeth ground together in frustration.

She shook her head, "Stop deflecting."

"I'm not," he said as he straightened up and flicked his hair out of his eyes with a toss of his head.

She turned her back to him as she balled her fists, "I don't know what's going on then. If you didn't say anything to him why is he acting so weird?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently slid it down to hold her upper arm, "He might have been hiding his feelings too."

She looked over her shoulder at him, "You think so?" Then she frowned, "It doesn't seem likely. He's been adamant that we're just friends. I don't get it."

Chat Noir kept his hand on her arm as he circled around her and faced her directly. "Give him a chance, let him explain."

She let out a huff, "I suppose you're right."

He rubbed his knuckles on his chest and blew on them. "I believe I am. Now then I need to finish patrolling. Will you join me, milady?" he said bowing and offering his hand.

"Sure," she placed her hand within his and his fingers closed around it.

"Excellent," he smiled as he extended his baton and launched them into the sky.

* * *

Ladybug couldn't help but notice how tightly Chat Noir held onto her as they travelled the rest of his patrol circuit. Her side was pressed firmly against his, her arm was wrapped around his waist and the other jointly held his baton. They'd always moved well together, like they were two halves of a whole. When they battled together they instinctively knew where to be and how to respond. He was oddly quiet but she supposed that was because she'd been angry with him. She'd doubted his loyalty and now she felt guilty.

"I'm sorry Chat," she said as they landed together at their final destination.

He looked at her curiously as he retracted his baton. "It's okay, LB."

She shook her head, "No it's not. I should have known better. If there's one person that I trust completely it's you and I didn't consider your feelings."

He shifted to her eye level, "It's okay milady. I forgive you."

She gave him a coy smile and gently punched his shoulder, "Thanks Chat. You're the best."

He smirked, "I know. You're lucky to have me."

She chuckled, "Yes I am."

He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders and laid the side of his head to hers. She felt his cat ear move against her hair. "We are the perfect pair you know."

She lifted his right hand and straightened his ring as she admired the bright green paw print against the black metal. "Creation and destruction," she said quietly.

"Yin and yang, dark and light," he said looking at their hair. His eyes dropped to hers, "Female and male."

"Are you trying to tell me something?" she smirked.

"The same thing I'm always trying to point out."

She let go of his hand and looked away, "I need some space, Chat."

"I think you're wrong. I think it's time we got closer."

Her eyes widened as his right hand caressed her cheek, "I-I…"

"You think too much. Maybe it's time you simply feel." His hand stroked her face and his thumb slipped along her chin and up to her lips.

Her eyes were wary, she opened her mouth to speak but his thumb traced the lines of her lips then his fingers tucked under her chin to close her mouth.

"You said you trust me. Trust me in this," he said as he lowered his face to hers. "Trust that I love you," his lips whispered over hers. He didn't dare linger, she was far too likely to push him away yet the gentle touch of their lips seared his very soul.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him. She lifted her hand to his chest and stepped out of his arms. Her heart was pounding and she didn't know what to think. This was Chat Noir who she always kept at arms-length because she didn't feel the same as he did and she'd never wanted to toy with his feelings. He'd made it clear on many occasions that he wanted more. Heck he'd confirmed it the night before. She didn't know what to do. Normally she brushed off his advances but now that he'd kissed her she felt something shift between them.

He didn't reach for her, he stood perfectly still as he watched her and waited. She didn't know what to make of that. Chat was always the aggressor when it came to expressing his desire. She hadn't taken him seriously for years until one day she'd discovered the truth and had done everything in her power to keep him at bay. But now as she looked at him she began to wonder if she'd done the right thing. Her crush on Adrien had stopped her from looking at anyone else as a potential partner, yet Chat Noir had been by her side for years. Was it time she actually recognised him as something more? She shook her head as if trying to empty her conflicting thoughts. "I should go." At her words pain reflected in his eyes and his tail twitched.

"Okay," he said folding his arms and looking away.

She opened her mouth to say more but nothing seemed appropriate. Instead she took her yoyo and swung away.

Chat Noir stood staring after her for some time. His chest felt constricted and his breathing was shallow. She hadn't responded to him the way he'd hoped. In his imagination, she should have tangled her fingers in his hair pulled him closer and kissed him back with a ferocity that brought him to his knees. He closed his eyes and his brow crinkled with inner agony. She didn't want him as Chat and that stung. With his head down, he extended his baton and headed home.

As he dropped onto his apartment rooftop his shoulders sagged. Ladybug had vented her frustration at having an unrequited crush but had she really thought about his? His frown deepened as he made his way inside. He slumped on his sofa as he transformed back and threw Plagg a glare before the kwami could say a word.

Plagg flew off but returned with a lump of cheese which he devoured in a single bite. "Stop moping, kid. She's confused and you just made her more so."

Adrien pressed his fist to the side of his face, rubbing it against the light stubble there, as he contemplated Plagg's words. "What do you think I should do?"

"Back off as Chat Noir. People want what they can't have. Why do you think she's had a crush on you as Adrien for so long? You were unobtainable."

Adrien's nose wrinkled, "You're saying I'm undesirable as Chat because I'm easy?"

Plagg laughed, "Your words not mine. I suggest you switch strategies, be elusive as Chat and open as Adrien. She said she had feelings for you outside of the mask, that's not going to disappear overnight. One way or another you're going to capture her attention."

"I guess that makes sense," he said as he stroked his own jaw.

Plagg floated down to sit on the coffee table, "Of course it does. I'm older than dirt and I know a thing or two. The most obvious reason she pushed you away as Chat Noir is because she's been hung up on you as Adrien. Think about it."

Adrien chuckled, "I will bow to your superior wisdom."

"It's about time," Plagg huffed as he crossed him arms.

* * *

 **And let the games begin ;) Once again thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows. Adrien is about to up the stakes...**


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

Marinette stared blankly at the woodgrain patterns of the tabletop, analysing what had happened between her and Chat. She often let her emotions carry her away but now it was time for logic. She'd suspected the depth of her partner's feelings for some time and had purposefully skirted around the issue. Chat Noir continued to be the flirt he'd always been, but as soon as he started to look serious she'd rebuffed him. Why hadn't she this time?

He'd been right, she did think too much but she couldn't help it. "He confirmed his feelings for me."

Tikki sat cross-legged floating just out of Marinette's line of sight. "Yes, but it's not the first time."

"It's the first time he's kissed me on the lips."

"It was bound to happen eventually."

Marinette looked up and her eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You can deny it all you want but there is chemistry between the two of you."

She scrunched her eyes closed at the little red bug. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

"And there's the denial I was talking about," Tikki giggled.

Marinette straightened and met her kwami's amused gaze head on. "His love isn't reciprocated, at least not in the way he wants. I love him like family, not like a lover! I don't want to love anyone that way right now!" The girl sank back into her seat and sighed. "I'm sick of wasting my time over someone who doesn't feel the same way."

"You know Chat won't wait around forever. He'll reach the same point you're at with Adrien."

Marinette groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Tikki let's not do this. Chat and I can't know each other. You've drilled the importance of keeping our identities a secret into my head for years now. I don't know him, at least not the real side of him. On the other hand, Adrien does know the real me and he's not interested. But that said, I don't want to lose his friendship. I probably shouldn't cut him off completely."

"Are you sure you're over your crush?"

She dropped her hands to the table and gave Tikki an unimpressed look. "Nothing is ever going to happen between us. That's the reality. It doesn't matter how I feel because it won't ever be mutual. He's a nice guy and a good friend but that's all he will ever be." Her voice cracked slightly. "And to be honest I don't want to lose that friendship. He still doesn't know why I got upset with him. I'm not about to explain it but I do owe him an apology."

Tikki smiled in approval, "You're being very mature about this. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, I guess I better get to bed if I'm going to catch him tomorrow. He's usually busy on the weekends."

* * *

Adrien was sprawled across his bed in a very cat-like manner. He'd kicked off his sheet sometime during the night and was clad only in his full-length pyjama pants. He groaned as his phone buzzed and lazily rolled over to snag it from the bedside table. His blonde hair fell into his eyes and he squinted bleary-eyed at the screen. He snapped to attention as he saw he had a message from Marinette. _Are you home?_

He immediately texted back, _Yes._

 _Good. I'm standing at your door bearing gifts._

He shot out of bed and hurried over to the mirror running his hands through his uncombed hair to make it somewhat presentable and less like his alter ego's signature mop. He opened the drawer and reached for a t-shirt then paused. A wicked grin spread across his face as he closed the drawer, electing to greet her in his current state. He quickly made his way through the living room and opened the door.

Her friendly smile disappeared as her eyes widened. "Hi Adri-Ad-, um hi."

He watched as her gaze dropped from his own to linger on his exposed chest. Yep, he'd made the right decision. "Come on in. Sorry, I just woke up."

Her eyes jumped back to his. "You don't have company, do you?"

He chuckled at the insinuation. "Nope. It's just me and you." He stepped back, held the door open and she stepped inside carrying a box of macarons. She stood rooted to the spot as he closed the door and he noticed that she was still checking him out. He lifted both his arms to finger comb his hair and to give her a full view of his torso as he walked by her. "I slept in this morning, so I'm not totally awake yet," he said lifting his hands over his head as he stretched, taking the opportunity to flex his biceps to show off a little. Adrien glanced over his shoulder to check if she was still watching.

"Oh," she said as she finally moved and placed the macaron box on the kitchen bench.

"I need a coffee. Would you like one too?" He asked as he turned on his Nespresso. He reached up into the top cupboard and took down a mug, but felt his pyjama pants slide to his hips as he did so. He'd forgotten the elastic was starting to go in this particular pair. He glanced over to Marinette and noticed her gaze had dropped as well. "I guess I should get dressed," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck a little sheepishly.

A deep blush spread across her face at being caught ogling and she looked away. "It's okay. I should have called ahead first."

He walked across the kitchen to lay his elbows on the bench directly opposite her and propped his chin on his hands. "It's fine Marinette. You're welcome here anytime."

She looked up at him and her fingers gripped the edge of the table. "Thanks," she squeaked.

He lifted the empty mug, "So, coffee?"

She nodded, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Great," he said turning back to his task. He made hers first, already aware of how she liked it and then did his own. He plonked himself beside her on the kitchen chair and took a sip. "I wasn't expecting to see you today."

Again, her eyes trailed over his bare skin before she tore them away and forced her head up to look him in the eye. "I owe you an apology for yesterday. I'm not much of a morning person and I wasn't as welcoming to you as I should have been."

He shrugged his broad shoulders and her eyes followed the movement. "It's okay. I think we've known each other long enough now to forgive the small stuff."

"You need to get dressed," she reminded him, a subtle pink tinting her cheeks.

He looked down and chuckled, "Yes I do. I'll be back in a minute." He stepped down from his stool and made his languid way to his bedroom, acutely aware of her eyes on him. Once in his room he threw on a pair of jeans and black button-up shirt. He made sure he walked out doing up the last couple of buttons. "Better?"

She swallowed and nodded.

He slipped back onto the stool and picked up his mug. Her elbow brushed his as she reached for the macaron box. "So, what did you bring?"

"Apple flavoured macarons. They're currently my favourite."

He sidled over as she opened the box. "I feel honoured that you're sharing them with me."

"Who said anything about sharing?" She teased.

He sat back and feigned offence. "Cruel woman."

She lifted one and held it out to him. "I'm kidding."

He considered eating it out of her hand but that was probably too forward. Instead he leaned in, plucked it from her fingers and took a bite. "Mm, these are delicious."

She was watching his mouth helplessly. "Yeah scrumptious." She shook her head, turned back to the box and picked up her own.

"Breakfast of champions." Adrien laughed, needing an excuse to grin. She could deny it all she liked but Marinette was still very aware of him.

She cleared her throat, "I-I was wondering if you're doing anything today?"

He shook his head as he finished off his macaron.

She looked at him hesitantly. "In that case, could I borrow you for today?"

He rested his chin on his fist and leaned towards her with a smirk, "What are you intending to do with me?"

"I need a male model to wear the clothes I've made for my latest class project. I'd need to make sure they fit you properly first and then I'd need to borrow you again to model them in class."

"You can have me any time you like," he said as he wiggled his eyebrows. Her mouth dropped open and drew his gaze. He lifted his hand, placed the tip of his finger under her chin and leaned even closer. "And I mean any time."

Her eyes widened further but she closed her mouth. She cleared her throat and blinked, "Well I might have an ulterior motive. My teacher is a lonely older woman with a wandering eye."

Adrien sat back and crossed his arms as he snorted. "Oh, so I'm just a bit of eye candy then?"

"You are fully aware of how your fangirls react when they see you in person."

He cringed. "Yeah. Please tell me she's not one of those. I really don't want to be pawed over."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," she said with a cheeky smile.

He laid his arm on the back of her chair. "But what if the unthinkable happens and you also succumb to my charms? Will you still protect me or steal me away?"

She was staring at him again but looked confused this time. "Adrien, are you on one of those weird diets again? You're acting really odd."

"It's called flirting, Marinette."

She quickly stood up and moved away from him. "You don't flirt with me."

"And you don't normally ravish me with your eyes. I didn't miss the way you looked at me when I opened the door."

Her face turned crimson. "I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting you to be half naked and you do have a good body."

"I'm comfortable around you Marinette and I'm fine with you looking."

Her shoulders sagged and he wondered if he'd said something wrong. She took a deep breath and locked eyes with him. "I don't like you flirting with me."

He sat back. "Oh. Okay, do you want me to stop?" She looked away and he watched as a myriad of emotions flickered in her eyes. She opened her mouth to answer but his phone rang. "Just a sec," he said as he raced to his bedroom. It was just Nathalie but it gave him the perfect excuse to avoid her answer. He knew Marinette was going to try and shut him down, just like she did when he was Chat. The difference was her eyes. As Ladybug, he was intimately aware of how her eyes shuttered when she was about to turn him down but Marinette didn't have that look. Instead she was vulnerable and a fragile hope lingered in those blue depths.

He listened as Nathalie relayed his photoshoot schedule. It was the only thing she was involved in these days. He'd slowly cut away from his father's control and the only reason he still modelled was due to the easy money. "I need to check my calendar," he told Nathalie as he walked back out towards Marinette. Covering the speaker, he addressed the girl, "When do you need me? Nathalie is checking my availability." Marinette looked surprised as she pulled out her phone, as if she couldn't believe he was putting her needs as a priority. Her fingers danced across her phone's screen and she rattled off the date and time. He finalised the details with Nathalie and quickly hung up. "Sorry about that," he said as he turned back to Marinette. "So, what do you need me to model?"

"A double-breasted suit."

"You've already made it, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, and it should fit you but it'll probably need adjustments." She didn't admit that she'd used his size measurements when creating it.

"Is it just the jacket and trousers?"

"Yep. I need to source a shirt and tie to go with it."

"Come with me," he said waving his hand and heading for his bedroom.

She obediently hopped off the stool and followed him. She hesitated at the threshold of his room, having never been in it before. Her eyes immediately turned to his rumpled bed and she mentally slapped herself. Adrien opened the sliding door to his massive wardrobe and started sorting through its contents. He plucked out an armful of dress shirts and dropped them on the bed. "Take a look and see if any of those will go with the suit. I've got a stack of ties in here too."

Marinette began sorting through his collection and selected four possible shirts that would go with the fabric of the suit. She picked up two and turned to Adrien, holding the first one against his chest as she considered it against his complexion and imagined it with the suit. She shook her head, "Nope." She did the same with the others and quickly narrowed it down to the second and last shirts.

"If you can't decide maybe it'd be best to check them with ties?"

She was immediately taken with a deep green tie with mini fleur-de-lis in dull gold widely spaced upon it. It matched up nicely with the second shirt she'd chosen. She held them together and scrutinised the combinations as she looked between them and Adrien.

"I can put them on," he suggested.

"Okay," she replied as she eyed the rest of the ties in case she'd missed a better option. She laughed as she spotted a Chat Noir tie, black with tiny green paw prints on it. "What's this?" she said holding it out. Then her smile faltered as she realised Adrien was getting changed with her still in the room.

He was shrugging on the shirt she'd chosen. "That was a gag from Ayla. At one point, she thought I might have secretly been Chat Noir so she gave me the tie as a stir."

Marinette snorted. "She suggested that once to me too."

He was adjusting the cuffs into place. "Doesn't sound like you believed it."

"Of course not, you're nothing like Chat Noir."

He turned to find a particular pair of cufflinks in the drawer. "How can you say that? I'm blonde, have green eyes and the same build. Or do you need to see me in tight black leather to notice the similarities?" he said with a mischievous grin over his shoulder.

She shook her head. "I meant personality wise. You're much too sensible to be Chat Noir."

He snagged the box he was looking for and walked back to her. "It sounds like you know him personally."

She looked at the box. "What have you got there?"

"Cufflinks. Can you help me with them?" he asked as he dropped them into her hand and presented his left wrist.

She picked up the first silver cufflink and smiled as she noticed they were the ones she'd given him for his eighteenth birthday. "I don't think I've ever seen you wear these."

"I don't want to lose them, so most of the time they live in the safety of my apartment."

She glanced up at him and caught his answering grin. He hadn't forgotten who'd given them to him. "I thought you mustn't have liked them."

A deep line settled between his eyebrows. "Of course I liked them, they were from you."

Her fingers finished threading the first cufflink into place and she moved to the second. This was the easy-going Adrien she was drawn to, and it was damn hard trying to ignore how pleasant it was being around him. There was something intimate about helping him dress, a familiarity that was generally reserved for couples. And yet, here she was sharing that now but outside those parameters. He leant around her to pick up the tie and his arm brushed hers. As she finished with the second cufflink, he draped the tie around his collar and adjusted it into a Windsor knot. She helped straighten and centre the tie.

"What do you think?"

She stepped back to take in his appearance and did her best to be professional but it was hard when he looked so hot. Pushing down those thoughts she nodded. "I think that will work," then she turned back to his wardrobe and pulled a black jacket from a hanger and draped it over one of his shoulders. "Yeah, that looks good to me."

He slid the jacket on, doing up the top button as he rolled his shoulders. "How's this?" he asked as he lifted his head to the side and posed for her.

She tapped her finger against her chin. "I think I'm going to have to bring a crowbar to pry my teacher away from you."

"I feel so used," he teased as he fluttered his eyelashes at her.

She laughed and her mouth responded before her brain could. "Nah, you know I love you." Suddenly her brain caught up. "L-like, like you I mean." The playful look disappeared from her eyes.

"It's okay, I love you too." He placed a feather light kiss to her cheek and watched as her face flushed.

Marinette stared at Adrien. He said he loved her, and right there was the reason her crush had been on continual loop for years. Sure, he loved her but as a friend. He just didn't add those extra words. He never did when he was talking directly to her. Her brain would always short-circuit when he was affectionate toward her, and right now, she was struggling to maintain her resolve. Especially since he'd been half-naked for the majority of her visit. That kiss had been purely platonic, yet his smouldering eyes had her confused.

She took a deep breath and smiled at him sweetly. "I'm sure my teacher will love you as well."

"Hmm… What if I add this pose?" Then he placed his hands in his pockets and moved into her personal space as he increased the intensity of the hungry look he'd been giving her to the point that it made her knees tremble.

Her hands balled into fists. It was almost like Adrien knew she wanted to be rid of her crush and decided to up the stakes. Maybe it was time she dished up some of his own medicine. She wrapped her fingers around the knot of his tie and threw him a smouldering look of her own. "If you're really going to charm the pants off her you should show a bit of skin." She loosened the tie and gently tugged open his collar. His smile suddenly became a little less steady and his nostrils flared. Her hands lowered to his jacket button, flicking it open and parting the sides. She let her thumbs skim against him as she adjusted his lapels. She then glanced up at him to see his reaction and was startled by how close his face was. She immediately stepped back and dropped her hands away. Her heart began to hammer as she saw what seemed like disappointment in his eyes.

"That's not a lot of skin," he said as he pulled the tie undone and tossed it onto the bed. He opened the top two buttons of his shirt. "Most the time I have to model like this."

"I think that's too casual for class."

His fingered his collar. "But we're not in your class. We're in my bedroom."

Good lord, the room seemed to become awfully hot to Marinette. He's teasing, she mentally told herself. She was certain he'd give her his usual cheeky grin and brush it off as a bit of fun. But the look in his eyes wasn't playful, it was sensual and she didn't know how to deal with that. "We should finish those macarons."

Adrien didn't say anything at first. He just stood and watched her. It eerily reminded her of Chat Noir after he'd kissed her. His eyes seemed to be calling out to her while he waited for her next move. Her fingers twitched in the direction of his face, but she curled them into loose fists instead. She was reading him wrong again. She had to be. Adrien Agreste wasn't interested in her that way. She was just his friend. Right?

His voice was rough when he finally spoke. "Is that what you're really hungry for, Marinette?"

* * *

 **Thanks everyone for reading, reviewing, favouriting and following.** **Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I've been rather busy. Unfortunately I will be a bit slow in updating over the next couple of months as I'm doing open university on top of work and being a Mum (I'm a glutton for punishment it would seem). That said I've already drafted up the next chapter and I know exactly where this is going so don't fear.** **I have to say a big thank you to shamelesslyromantic for editing help in this chapter. I really appreciate it. Stay tuned people, there's more to come. Cheers :)**


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_

Marinette's mouth was dry and her heart was hammering against her ribcage. If she didn't know better she would have thought Adrien was intent on seducing her. For once his body language matched his enticing words and she was stumped. Part of her longed to act on her supressed desires, tempted to reach out and grab a fist full of his shirt, to mash his body against hers and kiss him senseless. But was he serious? Was the flirting real? His behaviour was so outside his norm it didn't make sense. She kept her eyes firmly locked on his, refusing to glance over at his rumpled bed. Certain embarrassment awaited her there and she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it. She closed her eyes briefly and reaffirmed in her own mind, Adrien doesn't want you as a lover. You're projecting your own desire onto him. It's not the first time he's said something without realising the innuendo. She wasn't meant to be longing for him anymore but how on earth could she resist when he was the embodiment of temptation?

She knew the answer to his question and it danced on the tip of her tongue. He'd been stirring her carnal appetites for years, to the point of driving her into the fringes of stalker territory. She didn't want to be that person anymore, especially when he'd shown very little interest in return. Even if he was feeling something now, she doubted it could measure up to the magnitude of her own feelings. Feelings she was desperate to be rid of because she couldn't handle the disappointment anymore. She searched the green eyes still holding hers, taken aback by the intensity there. Just then, she heard his stomach rumble.

Suddenly it was clear, he hadn't eaten a proper meal yet. No wonder he'd brought up hunger, he wanted food. She shook her head to clear it and massaged her temples. "Sorry I've kept you from having breakfast." He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. "How about I buy you something on the way to my place?"

He cocked his head to the side and his lips pursed as if he was trying to work something out. "Okay, we could do that or we could stay here." She tried to ignore the way his eyes flickered suggestively between her and his bed, reiterating to herself that he wasn't being serious.

She pulled at the hem of her shirt awkwardly as a distraction. "The suit is at my place."

"Of course," he answered with a smile she couldn't read. "Should I wear the shirt and tie or take it separately so they can stay together with the suit?"

"Separate is more practical." Her eyes widened as he undid the remaining buttons on his shirt before she had even finished speaking. Adrien held her gaze as he drew the shirt and jacket slowly away from his toned torso and down his broad shoulders. Marinette blinked hard and turned to pick up the tie from his bed, determined not to look back at him. As her fingers slipped around the green silk she felt his body heat at her side as he reached toward a coat hanger for his shirt. Her eyes were drawn to the corded muscles on his arm, fascinated by the way they moved as he picked up the object he was seeking. The man seriously needed to put some clothes on, otherwise she was likely to lose her resolve, toss him onto his bed that he'd been eyeing moments before, and show him just how hungry she truly was. "Bad idea," she whispered without realising she'd spoken out loud.

Adrien turned to her. "What's a bad idea?"

She jumped at his words and hastily put more distance between them. "Uh, um I was considering the other shirt again." She claimed as her eyes landed on said shirt. "But I decided it was a bad idea, yeah."

He studied her while arranging the shirt he'd been wearing back on the hanger. "I could try it on."

She swallowed nervously and waved him off. "No, no that's fine. I'm certain this is the shirt." She refused to give him another reason for them to stay in his room.

"Very well," he said with a nonchalance she suspected was fake.

With that, Marinette stepped around him and returned to the kitchen. She hooked her fingers through the coffee mug's handle and took a large swig. She needed to get out of his apartment before she did something she'd regret, because things were destined to remain exactly as they were between the two of them, weren't they? As if sensing her unease, he walked out fully clothed with the shirt and tie held over his shoulder on the hanger. She drew another mouthful from her mug and her cheeks bulged as she awkwardly murmured, "Just finishing this off."

Adrien stepped hesitantly toward his own coffee, studying her with a perplexed look on his face. "I've got travel cups if you're in a rush."

She drained the coffee from her cheeks and swallowed. "Nah, it's okay. I was just thirsty."

He continued to stare at her with furrowed brows, then took a slip from his own mug before lowering it into the cradle of his hands. "Why are you so on edge?"

"I'm not on edge."

"You just raced out of my room like you were on fire and now you're guzzling your coffee like it's the last drink you'll ever have."

She moved the mug away from her face and settled it onto the tabletop with an unsteady hand, turning her gaze back up to his. She sincerely hoped he didn't notice her nervous shaking. "I've got a busy day."

"Marinette, we've been friends for years." She winced at that. Oh yes, 'friends' she knew all about that. "I know when you're upset. But what I don't understand right now is why."

She drew a deep breath. "I've got a lot going on at the moment. I'm sorry if I'm acting a bit… out of sorts."

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

She couldn't help but return his gentle smile. "I know Adrien, but some things are better left unsaid."

"Like what?"

"Like when you blow your nose so hard it rips a hole in the tissue and goes all over your hands. That's something that doesn't need sharing."

"You're right. That's just gross and I'm going to have that image burnt into my brain for the rest of the day."

"You asked," she giggled.

"Yeah I did." He said shaking his head ruefully and lifting his hands to ward her off. "Those sorts of details you can keep to yourself."

"I thought you'd say that."

He leaned forward again and poked her shoulder with his index finger. "Now tell me what's wrong."

She let out a heavy sigh. Part of her wanted to tell him the truth. She'd love to be free of the heavy burden of holding in her feelings for so long, to have him understand why she was so confused. But if he didn't reciprocate it would make things unbelievably awkward. He'd try to maintain their friendship because that's the kind of nice guy Adrien Agreste had always been. Chloe was a prime example of that. Marinette could remember the way he cringed around the girl who constantly threw herself at him during their teens. He'd gently pry Chloe's hands away, smiling awkwardly as he did his best to escape without hurting her feelings. While he'd been pleasant to her, his discomfort at her advances had been plain for anyone to see. The only person blind to it had been the one involved. Had she been like that? Had she been so oblivious and determined to make something out of nothing that she missed the truth? Had she seen only what she wanted to see? The sinking feeling in her gut suggested she had. Marinette dipped her head in defeat. He could never know how she felt. It would ruin the relationship they currently had. Walking away from romantic notions was critical to their friendship. She reverted to what she always did regarding her feelings for Adrien, change the subject. "I'm nervous about this class project. I want to do well."

His eyes seemed to be searching hers and he took his time before answering. "You'll be fine, Marinette. You're very good at what you do." Again, there was an undertone she didn't understand. What was Adrien trying to say? He finished the rest of his brew and gently took her elbow. "We can head over to your place now, although I should probably clean my teeth first."

She couldn't help but grin, "Mr Model doesn't want death breath?"

"It's bad for my image. Can you imagine the headlines? ' _Adrien Agreste fans fall at his feet due to halitosis, not adoration_.' My father would have a heart attack."

Marinette cracked up. "I can vividly imagine the photograph to go with that story, piles of girls' bodies strewn in a circle around you. Too funny."

"Oh, and then there'd be an akuma attack from Madam Halitosis, one fangirl's mother who wants revenge via the means that destroyed her daughter."

"Let me guess, her superpower is coma-inducing bad breath?"

"But of course, Hawkmoth would accommodate such a ridiculous power."

She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye as she continued to laugh. "That's so true."

Adrien placed his hands on his hips, widened his stance and threw her a mocking gaze. "I am Hawkmoth, I choose extraordinarily weird superpowers for my lame akumas. I can't imagine why I haven't defeated Ladybug and Chat Noir yet."

"Oh wait, you forgot to mention stealing their miraculous."

"Ah yes, give me your miraculous. I want the ultimate power to make my one dream come true," he clenched his fist in the air dramatically, "the ability to be awesome."

Marinette sniggered and lifted her hand to cover a snort. "You better be careful or Hawkmoth will akumatise you."

Adrien waved her off. "As if! My awesomeness so outweighs his lameness."

"Out of curiosity what would your akuma name be?"

"Hmm," he tapped his finger against his lips and eyed her sideways. "How about the Punster?"

She looked at him incredulously. "That would have to be Chat Noir if he was ever akumatised. He says more puns than anyone else I know."

He crossed his arms and gave her a knowing grin. "I think I can keep up with Chat."

"Please don't challenge him to a pun contest, it'll never end!"

"Ah, so I would be a match for Chat Noir. But what about Ladybug? How would the Punster fare against the fabulous lady in red?"

Marinette mirrored his stance and smirked. "I'm pretty sure the Punster would be so distracted by his attempt to outdo Chat Noir that she could sneak up and purify his akuma before he even noticed she was there."

A pointed finger shifted her way. "What if Chat wasn't there? Then what?"

"Why wouldn't he be there? Chat rarely misses an akuma fight."

Adrien shrugged. "He might have been caught in a place where he was unable to transform without revealing his identity. I'm sure that's probably happened to him before."

Her eyes narrowed. "You seem to have given a lot of thought to this."

"I have. I think everyone wants to know the secret identities of Paris' superheroes." He stepped closer to her, his lips almost brushing her ear as he whispered, "I've always wanted to know the real identity of Ladybug. You could say it's a burning need that's been threatening to consume me for years."

She staggered back, "W-why? You barely know her."

"It may sound strange but Ladybug captured my heart from the moment she collided with me."

Marinette's eyebrows drew together in puzzlement. "Collided with her." She searched her memories, and while there had been a number of times when she'd been around Adrien as Ladybug she couldn't pinpoint any time when they had physically bumped into each other. "When did this happen?"

He shrugged, "Back in the early days. It was a _heightening_ experience."

She began to analyse the first akuma attacks that involved Adrien to some degree and then it hit her, Riposte. Adrien had initially tackled her as Ladybug to save her during a fight with Riposte but he'd collided with her, not the other way around. He'd said heightening, did that mean when they were on the rooftops? She felt heat seep into her cheeks as she remembered wrapping an arm around Adrien in his fencing gear, pulling him so close she could feel the rise and fall of his chest with each breath. Of course, Ladybug had done it with the intent of swinging them away from a dangerous akuma at the time. Could he be meaning that sort of collision? She looked up at him sharply as another thought struck her. "Are you in love with Ladybug?"

There was a great deal of warmth in his eyes as he confessed, "Yes, I am."

The air seemed to be sucked out of Marinette's lungs. He loved Ladybug, but he barely knew Ladybug. How could he love her? What would he do if he discovered his good 'friend' Marinette was actually the heroine he claimed to love? She frowned, certain he'd be disappointed. The allure of mystery would be dispelled, leaving boring old Marinette in its wake. Part of her entertained the idea of turning up at his window as her alter ego, but she was pretty certain that path would only ever lead to a broken heart. Her mind wandered to Chat Noir and his own declaration of loving her. Did anyone actually want Marinette? Did Ladybug so outshine her civilian self that nobody could love the everyday girl behind the hero? She felt the need to talk to Chat. He was the only one who could understand her dilemma but at the same time he was also infatuated with her stronger side. Perhaps Tikki was the better option.

"You've gone very quiet."

"I guess I'm a little stunned." She laced her fingers together and lifted her eyes to his. "I suppose it's only fair that a celebrity is allowed to have a crush on another celebrity. I guess I thought you'd be into someone more… real."

His brows arrowed upward and she saw the compassion in his eyes. "I don't think of her as a celebrity. She's very real to me."

Marinette's eyes dropped back to her hands. She was glad they were linked together, because it made it easier to hide the slight shaking that would betray her emotional turmoil. No wonder he'd never seen her as anything but a friend. His eye had been caught by her alter ego and while that was part of her, she wanted him to fall for the girl he actually knew. Had she been aware of his interest previously, she might have made an effort to get to know him as Ladybug, but now it felt too late. He was in love with the part of her he didn't really know and that hurt. She pushed the pain away, taking a deep breath and forcing a smile that didn't meet her eyes. It was time to ignore her feelings and move on. Adrien would only ever be a friend, she could see that now. No matter how much it tormented her, it needed to stay that way. She needed someone who loved Marinette first, and Ladybug second.

Adrien had no idea what was going on in Marinette's head but he was fairly sure it wasn't good. She was emotionally closing him out when he thought she'd finally open up. He'd just told her he loved Ladybug, essentially confessing he loved her but instead of looking happy she looked like someone had just died. He reached out to touch her but refrained at the last moment. She looked so fragile that he decided it unwise to make contact. Perhaps a change of subject was best. "So, how about that breakfast?"

She perked up somewhat, but her voice was too cheerful. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. We can't have you starving."

"Let's get something on the way to the train."

* * *

 **An adventure awaits them on the train. Once again thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows - they make my day. Hats off to** **shamelesslyromantic for help with editing this chapter. Stay tuned for the next chapter, cheers :)**


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six_

Adrien settled into the window seat of the train and glanced over at his quiet companion. As usual Marinette had considerately placed herself in the aisle seat to give him potential cover from random fans. He wanted to talk to her, but she'd said very few words since they'd left his apartment. He knew he'd royally screwed up, he'd seen the opportunity to express his feelings but hadn't thought through the implications. In her eyes, he had just confessed his burning love of another woman, because she was unaware that he'd discovered her secret. He mentally kicked himself and wished he could take back his words.

With his croissant demolished, Adrien licked his fingers and considered how he could get back into Marinette's good graces. He kept trying to think of ways to get her to talk but so far, she'd given him very little to work with. Since words were failing he resorted to body language. His shoulder was already in contact with hers, but he needed more surface area to show his interest. He shifted slightly so that his knee was pressed to her leg. When she didn't shy away he placed his hands on his own thighs, mirroring her position. Temptation gnawed at him to reach over and pick up her hand, but given her current mood he decided against it. Adrien desperately wanted to know what she was thinking, but all he knew for sure was that declaring his love for Ladybug had been a huge mistake.

Raised voices cut through his inner thoughts, as he turned to look over his shoulder at a bickering couple a few rows back. He exchanged a look with Marinette before turning around and whispering, "Well this is a little awkward."

She nodded as her shoulder pressed firmly to his. "Hopefully they'll get off at the next stop."

They didn't, the pair continued to argue as accusations of infidelity and betrayal were thrown around. Adrien glanced back again to see the woman cross her arms and glare away from her boyfriend as she huffed. Then her angry gaze fell on the model and her eyes widened, his stomach coiled as recognition dawned on her face. "Adrien Agreste!" she all but shouted.

He whipped his head back around and tried to sink into the seat. "Fangirl," he muttered to Marinette.

"Have you got the halitosis on tap?"

"Nope, I cleaned my teeth."

"Damn, there goes that option." Marinette shifted so her shoulder blade was in contact with his side, he had no doubt that she was trying to shield him. He was intimately familiar with such a move, her inner Ladybug was going into protection mode, it was a shame her smaller frame didn't hide his. Nor did she realise that it was Chat Noir who sat beside her, without his mask.

The brunette flounced her way to her heart throb and flicked her long hair over her shoulder. "Oh my gosh, it is you! You're Adrien Agreste, and you're so much hotter in real life. I so need a photo. My friends are _not_ going to believe this."

Marinette's spine was ramrod straight, and she spoke with authority. "I'm sorry but Adrien can't do random photos with fans, it's in his contract. He's only able to do so at planned events and outings." Adrien held in his smirk, there was no such agreement but he liked the way his lady stepped up.

"Oh," the brunette groaned as her expression turned sour. "But my boyfriend is being such a jerk. Can't you just do this for me anyway?"

"Candice, leave the guy alone and get your butt back here." Once again, the shouting match resumed between the pair, only this time Candice was right in front of them screaming at her boyfriend whose name was apparently Trent.

Adrien and Marinette kept glancing at each other then back at the fighting couple. "We have to get off at the next stop," Marinette discreetly whispered.

Unfortunately, Candice was blocking them in. Adrien lay the clothes he was carrying on Marinette's lap. "I'll deal with this," he said as he stood and stepped around Marinette's legs. With his lady at his back, he placed a wary hand on Candice's shoulder and opened his mouth to speak, but Trent was suddenly up and charging towards them.

"Get your hands off my girl!" He snarled as he pushed said girl to the side and got up in Adrien's face.

Lifting his hands in a sign of submission, Adrien side-stepped from Marinette, as he attempted to keep her out of Trent's line of fire. "I meant no harm."

"You need to mind your own damn business." Trent shouted as he poked a sharp finger against Adrien's sternum.

Trent was unexpectedly shoved aside, as Candice plastered her back to the model's chest and angled her phone for a selfie with Adrien. "Say cheese," she said making a kissy face for the camera, which made her look more like a duck than a seductress. But before she could capture the image, Marinette flung Candice sideways and wedged herself in front of Adrien. Trent's fist was headed straight for the model's face, without any hesitation Marinette twisted her arm, with elbow up to deflect the hit. Adrien's instincts took over, snagging her wrist, he twirled her in against his torso. Then he tucked her against his chest and spun so his back was to Trent, shielding her from attack. It was his job was to protect his lady, even if they weren't in costume.

"What are you doing?" Marinette hissed.

"Stopping you from getting punched." He said as he dropped them both into a crouch as Trent's hand smashed into the metal wall above them.

He cursed and he clutched his fist, "It's broken you bastard. You broke my hand!"

The train slowed to a stop and the doors opened. Adrien wrapped his arm around his partner's waist and rushed them out the exit. Once on the platform he deposited her behind a pillar. He was about to ask if she was alright when they both gasped in horror, a purple butterfly fluttered into the train. "Akuma!" he shouted in warning.

Knowing they only had moments Adrien turned to his partner and clutched her arms. He had to give her a reason why they needed to part, so they could individually transform. His voice was firm, "You need to get out of here and raise the akuma alarm."

"I'm not leaving you behind."

He was touched by her loyalty, but now was not the time. "It's not an option, I'm going to stay here and distract the akuma until Ladybug and Chat Noir arrive."

"I don't like this." She looked torn.

There was no time for indecision, so he gave her a gentle shove. "Go. The quicker you can get that alert out, the quicker this will be over."

Determination steeled in her eyes. "Okay, but stay safe."

He lifted his fist and bumped her shoulder. "I will."

As she darted off Adrien stood to his full height, peered around the pillar and into the train. He was convinced that the akuma victim would either be Trent or Candice, as both were prime targets in the given situation. His view was obscured as the train windows turned opaque and people flooded from the exits screaming. He scanned the crowd and recognised Candice as one of the fleeing people. Adrien groaned, he could only imagine what Trent had been turned into.

Plagg poked his head up from the shirt pocket. "This looks spooky."

"Then I guess we should throw a black cat into the mix." Adrien lifted his ring hand, glanced about and prepared to transform. His lips had barely parted when Ladybug came storming down the stairs.

"Too slow," Plagg chuckled and sunk back into his pocket.

"What do we have?" Ladybug asked, as she snuck behind the pole with him.

Adrien did a double take, he wasn't in costume, yet she addressed him as if he was. It made him wonder if she subconsciously knew he was her partner. "I'm not sure yet. He hasn't gotten off the train."

At that comment, black smoke began to billow from the open doors of the train. "Fire?" Ladybug whispered with uncertainty.

The model shook his head. "I don't see any flames."

"You should get out of here." She said, cocking her head towards the stairway.

"I'll be right b…" He snapped his mouth shut as he realised what he was about to say, "…out there." He rushed up the stairs and into the throng of curious bystanders. He couldn't transform here. He weaved his way through the crowd who were so focussed on the drama below they didn't notice a celebrity was in their midst. A bus blocked his path, so Adrien dropped to the ground and rolled under it. He came to a stop beneath the drivetrain and transformed, then he rolled out the opposite side as Chat Noir.

With a quick flick of his baton, Chat Noir sailed over the bus and landed on the railing above the stairway to the metro platform. The crowd gave a collective cheer as he swung himself over the side and into the dark maw. The smoke had gotten thicker and his sensitive nose twitched at the acrid smell. His green feline eyes scanned for both his lady and the enemy. His breath caught in his throat as he saw a red clad leg sprawled on the tiled floor. The rest of her was hidden from his view behind a pole. Getting down on all fours, Chat Noir raced across the ground to assess the situation. His head darted from side to side as drew near. The leg didn't move. The smoke continued to billow eerily from the train.

Ladybug lay supine with her eyes closed and her body limp, the smoke must have been playing tricks with his eyes as she looked as wispy as the dark fog surrounding them. Chat quickly ran his hands over her form in search of any wounds but he felt nothing and she didn't flinch. He placed his baton at his back as he slipped an arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders. She was alarmingly light as he hefted her into his arms, and it raised his hackles as he cautiously backed away, something was very wrong with this picture. His cat ears pivoted in search of any tell-tale sounds but there was nothing but the whisper of his own quiet footfalls.

As his back hit the cool tiles of the rear wall he heard a distant call from Ladybug. His masked brow furrowed as he looked down at the girl in his arms. She'd morphed, it was no longer Ladybug in his arms, instead he held a teenage girl in blue skinny jeans and a pink blouse. He stood immobile as he tried to understand what was going on. The girl was still unconscious, so he couldn't ask her any questions. He needed to get her to safety, so he made his way to the stairs. But as the smoke cleared the girl faded too. "What the hell?" he gasped, as his clawed hands curled around the form in his arms and sifted through her dematerialising body.

At a loss, Chat Noir sat what remained of the girl on the step while she continued to fade. Finding Ladybug was critical, her power would save the girl he'd just tried to rescue. He pulled out his baton in attempt to locate Ladybug. Her beacon indicated she was still below and he trusted his tool more than his eyes in this situation. As he delved into smoky fog, Ladybug's voice grew louder, but he was hesitant in answering. Something very strange was going on and he wondered if stealth was his only ally. The further he walked the thicker the smoke grew, yet he was able to breathe with little trouble.

Ladybug's beacon continued to flash on his baton and he warily made his way aboard the train. The smoke thinned as he crossed the threshold and his tail began to twitch in agitation. He was deep within the train when he found Ladybug's yoyo lying on the floor. He extended his baton and used the end to tap the yoyo over. He picked it up and gave it a squeeze to ensure it was solid. With a flick of his thumb he slid the yoyo open and knew it was the real deal. The door to the next carriage hissed open and his head snapped up. Ladybug stood before him but she was translucent, her form swirled in the hews of her costume, distinguishing her from the faint smoke surrounding them. Her mouth opened and he recognised his name on her lips but there was no sound. A moment later he heard her voice while her mouth was closed. "Chat, you're here."

"What are you?" He asked as his cat ears flickered and his nose twitched, seeking any proof that this was actually Ladybug.

Her mouth opened as if she were responding but again the sound was delayed. "It's me, Chat. The akuma is named Redemption. He has a silver glove on his right hand. If he touches you with it you begin to disappear. He claims he will cleanse the world of all wrong doing, and those who oppose him will slowly fade out of existence after he's touched them."

Chat's eyes widened. "He touched you."

She gave a nod and her lips curved into a "Yes."

His hands began to sweat. "Have you used your lucky charm?"

The echo of her former answer sounded but she fervently shook her head.

"You didn't use it then."

Her mouth moved in answer and he waited for the disembodied voice. "I didn't use it. I was about to call it up when he touched me. I dropped my yoyo to protect it but I can't pick it up now."

Chat Noir looked at the yoyo in his clawed hand. "I touched someone else affected earlier. I think it's safe for you to touch me."

She gave a nod and lifted her ghostly hand but didn't move.

"We do this together. Come here."

Ladybug's spectral form stepped forward to meet him. He reached for her with his empty hand and felt her arm solidify under his touch. "This is bizarre. It's like I'm able to make you whole while I'm touching you."

"Yes," she said and this time it was in sync with her. She blinked as she looked up at him.

"Put your hand in mine, I'll put the yoyo into your palm and we can move together to call your lucky charm."

"Good thinking." She shifted to stand with her back against his chest and lay her arm along his. Her body solidified even further at the increased contact with him. His larger hand cradled hers and he pressed the yoyo into her grasp, looping the string around her finger. "Okay, let's do this." In unison they called, "Lucky charm."

He felt her power surge through him as her magic unleashed the latest in weird solutions. This time a red and black spotted leather whip fell into her hand, his fingers closed over hers to ensure she could hold it. "I guess we better get cracking," he smirked briefly, then turned serious as he caught her faint scent through the smoke. "So, what now?"

"We find Redemption."

"Sounds like a Western or even a pun." He grinned, as his face rested against her cheek.

Normally Ladybug would move away but if she did now she'd dematerialise again. Instead her head turned while remaining in contact with his. His eyes closed briefly at the feel of her exposed skin against his own, and then the side of her face came to rest against his, "Not funny, Chat."

The tip of his nose touched the side of hers. She was so near it was making him cross-eyed. "You're right. We should be serious, we are sharing a spiritual moment, yes?" He'd never seen her eye-roll this close before, and a chuckle rumbled from deep in his chest. "I'll take that as a no." His body stiffened as his lips grazed her face with each word. He drew a deep breath to steady himself, instead it emphasised how affected he was by her proximity.

"Are you okay, kitty?"

He sucked in a breath through his mouth and shuddered. "Being this close to you is driving me crazy."

"Sorry I'd move away if I could."

"No, no. It's fine."

"We better go, otherwise I'll transform back and I don't want to be a ghost forever."

"Okay but if we're going to move together, to keep you corporeal, I'd suggest a piggy back ride."

Ladybug groaned at his toothy grin. "Don't look so happy about it."

"What? I'm just helping my partner out."

Keeping her hands firmly on Chat Noir, Ladybug moved around him and hopped onto his back. She hooked her legs around his waist and linked her ankles. She draped her arms over his shoulders, pressed her torso along the curve of his spine and tucked her head in the crook of his shoulder. "Alright, let's do this."

Chat Noir gave a nod as he twisted the length of the whip around his left arm. "Alright, hold on milady." Chat lunged forward, racing through the carriages in search of the akuma. Ladybug was his second pair of eyes, she instructed him where to go and when to slow down. As they reached the final carriage the smoke began to thicken again. Chat's eyes stung and his throat felt thick. "This stuff is awful."

"I can't really sense it anymore."

Chat tilted his head and looked at her with concern. "I don't like the sound of that."

"All the more reason to get this done."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than a silver fist came sailing through the smoke. Chat ducked while the fist skimmed against Ladybug, making her back dematerialise again. "Drop me, Chat!"

He released her while leaning down, he lifted his arms to his sides as she flipped over the top of him. There she landed in a defensive stance in attempt to protect her partner, as Redemption continued to attack. "What do we need to do?" He asked as he unwound the whip from his arm.

Her eyes darted about before landing on him. "We need to use the whip to bind his wrists, then use your cataclysm to destroy his glove."

"That's going to be tricky since I need to touch you so you can use the whip. You're right handed and my ring is on the same hand."

"Hold my right wrist with your left hand. Call for your cataclysm as soon as I've got him."

He gave a nod and latched onto her as instructed, while they both dodged another blow. Her hand solidified enough to hold the whip. Chat relaxed his arm and let it move freely with her actions. It took three goes before Ladybug achieved a firm hold with the whip. "Cataclysm," he bellowed and wondered if she felt his surge of power as he had with her. As soon as the power of destruction thrummed into his hand he laid it onto the silver glove and watched it char and disintegrate. A purple butterfly flapped its way up.

"Chat, I need you to help me with my yoyo."

He spun behind her, melding his body against her back so she could utilise her yoyo. Again, he relaxed and followed her movements as she purified the butterfly and tossed the whip into the air calling, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The swarm of magical ladybugs circled them first, his eyes, nose and throat immediately cleared and he felt the full weight of his lady sag against him. The bugs continued on, busy fixing all the damage done by the akuma. A number of dazed people appeared as the smoky fog was dispersed.

As the magic finished its work Chat prepared to do their usual fist bump but Ladybug was still limply pressed against him. "Are you okay, LB?"

There was a slight shake of her head. "I'm exhausted."

He tucked his hands under her armpits and gently turned her around while supporting her against his chest. "I've got you." Her earring chirped in warning and he observed they were down to two dots. "We need to leave."

Her face slumped into his shoulder. "I know," she muttered into the material of his suit. Her fingers bunched against his biceps as she pushed herself up. Her eyelids drooped as she attempted to stand on her own. Chat Noir glanced over to the other people who had been affected by the akuma and they too were drowsy.

Chat Noir placed a hand to her face, sweeping her fringe away from her eyes. "Why aren't you back to normal? Miraculous Ladybug fixes everything."

"I think I am back to normal but talking, moving and fighting while in that state was so draining. The smoke seemed to pull all the energy out of me."

His miraculous chirped. "We have to go. We're going to change back soon. There are too many people here." He scooped her into his arms and bolted through the smoke-free train. As he reached the carriage they'd been in he snatched up the shirt and tie he'd left behind. The police were starting to mill onto the platform as they emerged. He called out and pointed to where the victims were as he rushed by them. Ladybug's earring chirped again, one dot left.

He activated his baton and launched them out of the exit and high in to the air. Marinette's apartment was only two blocks away. He increased his speed as he dashed across the rooftops. Ladybug lolled in his arms, her eyes were closed and her head was tucked into his shoulder. He landed heavily on her private balcony and was relieved to find the glass door unlocked. He used his foot to both open and slide close the door. Once inside he carried her to her bedroom and laid her on her bed. Her fingers suddenly tightened on his arms, as he turned to look, her eyelids fluttered open. "Chat…"

"Shh," he cooed. "It's okay, I'm here."

Her lips curled upward as her eyes began to close. "You always are, whenever I need you."

"And I always will be." He leant down to press a kiss to her forehead but she lifted her chin and he found her mouth instead. His eyes widened and his lips parted in shock.

* * *

 **To snog, or not to snog? That's the question poor Chat is stuck with. Stay tuned to find out what will happen next. Thanks for the support so far, sorry this one took a while to get posted. Cheers :)**


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter Seven_

Ladybug had only intended to adjust her head on the pillow when somehow her mouth had collided with Chat Noir's. Her normal impulse would have been to shy away, yet the clogs in her weary brain were turning at a much slower speed than normal. This combined with the zing of electricity that passed between their lips, encouraged her body to respond before her brain had a chance to catch up. Perhaps it was the unspoken shift in their relationship that whet her appetite, driving her fingers to sink into the hair at his nape, nudging Chat closer as her mouth began to explore his. With the flutter of her eyelids, she caught the shocked look in Chat's emerald eyes, which were overshadowed by his masked eyebrows that arrowed up into an expression of pure bliss. She was vaguely aware of the final chirp from her earrings, but her brain remained clouded by the haze of fatigue and lust. She felt Chat Noir's frame stiffen beneath her hands as her transformation dropped, but she continued kissing him, completely lost to everything but the sensation. Her tongue flicked along his upper lip before she sucked on his lower one.

A groan escaped Chat Noir, and his body finally relaxed, his weight settling over her. Part of her was becoming more aware of the situation, as she hooked a single ankle around his. They had shared such a strong connection during the akuma fight and she yearned to be that close to him again. Then the haziness returned as he kissed her back with a vigour that surpassed her own. Again, a miraculous chirped but this time it was Chat's, he tensed and pulled away from her hungry lips. Her interlaced fingers at his nape came undone, dropping briefly to caress his face before slipping to the mattress. With their contact broken, Marinette finally succumbed to the murkiness of sleep.

Chat Noir on the other hand, was wide awake. His lady had just kissed him like her life depended on it. When his miraculous had chirped, letting him know he only had a minute left, he'd somehow managed to disentangle himself from her. Much to the disappointment of his raging hormones. His lips continued to tingle as he hovered over Marinette, with arms braced on either side of her resting form, while he remained uncertain what to do. Was now the time to show her who lay beneath his mask? Even though she wasn't acting like her normal self. Chat remained in that position so long that he transformed back into Adrien. Plagg floated by his shoulder. "So, is there any cheese in this place?"

"Trust you to only think with your stomach in this sort of situation, Plagg." Adrien's head shot around at the feminine voice and there hovered a little red kwami with her arms crossed, glaring at Plagg.

"You must be Tikki."

She gave Adrien a warm smile. "Yes, I am." Then her demeanour changed. "You shouldn't be here. She didn't see you transform."

"I know but something is wrong. She shouldn't be like this."

Tikki swooped down to land on Marinette's shoulder. "She's just exhausted. Think about it, your miraculous boosts your power when you transform but it doesn't have any way to counter fatigue. Sleep will return her to normal."

"I hate to point this out but Ladybug doesn't kiss Chat Noir. I know from years of experience."

"You've been teasing her all morning, that sexual frustration had to go somewhere. Besides she wasn't truly awake when she kissed you."

He sucked in a shaky breath at the idea that he'd actually gotten to Marinette. He turned to study her, as her fingers curled around his wrist in sleep. "She does seem keen for me to stay."

"She'd never admit it to anyone but she's lonely, Adrien. She wants to be loved."

"She is loved." Then his voice turned quiet as he continued, "But she always pushes me away."

"She wants to be loved as Marinette, not Ladybug."

"That doesn't make any sense, she is Ladybug."

"Yes, but she feels like her superhero persona overshadows the girl who lies beneath the mask. She believes that nobody is interested in her as Marinette."

"That explains why she pushes me away as Chat Noir. She doesn't think I see the real her."

Plagg let out a groan. "Cheese! Come on I'm starving here."

Tikki whipped into the air and shoved Plagg from behind. "The fridge is this way, you floating black hole of a stomach."

"While compliments are appreciated, I'd rather food."

Adrien smirked as the tiny pair floated out of the room. Marinette's fingers began to ease their grip on his wrist as she continued to slumber. "Just tired hey," he said to himself as he laid down beside her. As his arm touched hers, she instinctively wriggled towards him and nuzzled his shoulder. He rolled to his side and pulled her close. "I love all of you, milady. I'm just not sure how I can prove it to you."

* * *

Marinette was warm, and something smelt wonderful. Not in the sense of something edible although the scent could have been described as yummy, spicy and even intoxicating. It was also familiar, but she couldn't identify it. She burrowed her face into the strong warmth beside her and was embraced in return. She let out a little moan of contentment. She hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time. Her fingers tightened, and she felt something smooth within her grasp. What was it? She struggled to lift a single eyelid. Weird, whatever was close was black. She didn't have black sheets. Her addled mind began to sort through her last memories and her eyes snapped open as she remembered being carried by Chat Noir.

Marinette sat back and stared at the chest before her. That was black leather, familiar black leather. Did that mean Chat Noir was lying with her? She swallowed and gradually tilted her head up to gasp as she spied her partner's familiar masked features, partly obscured by an errant lock of his blonde hair over his closed eyes. Her pounding heart increased its tempo. She was in bed with Chat Noir, how the hell did that happen? And how did they end up in her bed? She lifted a tentative finger and poked his smooth cheek. "This is real," she gulped.

Unable to resist, she found herself leaning closer to observe Chat without disruption. She had never studied him this thoroughly, or in such proximity. The only times they came so near were during battle, when one tackled the other for protection. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply as she attempted to calm herself, instead she drew in his scent which only rattled further. As much as she hated to admit it, Chat Noir was remarkably handsome, and it was something she'd been trying to ignore for some time. The task had been relatively easy when her mind had been filled with her longing for Adrien, it had been effortless to deny and bury the attraction to her partner in the depths of her subconscious. But now she was trying to get over that crush on Adrien, what could she use as a buffer against her partner? She dropped her head to her pillow and sighed. It was unwise to get emotionally entangled with him, if things went awry it would make working together extremely difficult. As if to counter her negative thoughts, Chat's arms coiled around her, pulling her body firmly against his. He buried his face in her hair and let out a contented purr.

To her complete surprise, it felt right being in Chat Noir's arms. It shouldn't feel this good, he was her miraculous partner not a romantic one. Sure, he'd shown his interest for a long time, but it wouldn't last. Not when he discovered who she really was. It was then that Marinette realised her arms were not coated in her red and black spotted costume. She was unmasked in Chat Noir's arms within her own room. This produced even more uncomfortable questions. Panicking, she winged out her elbows in attempt to loosen his hold. Unfortunately, the movement stirred him awake instead. He yawned and gave her a sleepy smile. "I guess I must have dozed off too." He lifted his arms, tipped back his head and arched his spine as he stretched in a very cat-like manner. Her breath hitched as the hard plains of his body rippled against her.

"Why are you here, Chat?" She inwardly winced at the unsteady pitch of her own voice.

"Do you remember the akuma attack on the train?" His eyes locked on hers and seemed to be searching for something.

"Yes, I also have a recollection of you carrying me." Not mentioning that she was almost certain she'd been Ladybug at the time.

He looked away as he asked, "Do you remember what happened after that?"

Marinette's brow furrowed as she sunk her fingers into her hairline. "It's a blur. I remember feeling utterly exhausted." Her hand froze in her dark tresses as she recollected being laid on her bed, followed by the sudden surge of desire to be closer to her partner. She recalled her mouth moving against his and the alluring press of his body over hers, along with a pair of worried green cat eyes. She lowered her hand and peered through her fingers, caging her face. "Did I... um. Did we kiss?"

A flush of pink sat high on the exposed part of Chat's cheeks. His emerald eyes caught hers, and there was a coarseness to his voice when he eventually spoke. "Yes, we did."

Her hand dropped to her lap. "No," she said with shocked disbelief and completely missed the flash of pain in his eyes.

His lips turned white as they compressed. "You didn't mean to?"

"I don't know what I was thinking. I was just so glad you were there."

Chat Noir turned away from her and dropped his legs over the side of the bed. His face was partly obscured behind his hair and curve of his shoulder as he eyed her. "So, it was a mistake?"

Marinette cocked her head at the hostility in Chat's voice. "Have I upset you?"

He stood and placed his clawed hands on his hips, looking up at the ceiling, with his back to her as his tail twitched. He let out a resigned sigh, "I'm confused, that's all."

"Me too." She glanced over at him, not sure how to bring up her transformation. Did he see Ladybug return to Marinette? "What I don't understand is how you knew where I live, that makes no sense."

"As adamant as you are about keeping our identities a secret, I now know yours." He turned and eyed her from head to toe. "I'm sure you've noticed you're not currently Ladybug."

"Did I transform before we got out of the station? Did people see me?"

"No, I got you out of there as fast as I could. The only person to witness your transformation was me."

She looked lost for a moment, then her eyes narrowed, "Hang on a minute, you used cataclysm. Why are you still Chat Noir?"

Chat glanced away sheepishly. "You fell asleep before I dropped my transformation, my kwami recharged and so I recalled my transformation. I wasn't sure if you'd want to know my real identity."

"That hardly seems fair," she snapped.

"It might be better this way. I'm still a wild card because you don't know who I am."

"But clearly you know me out of the mask because you knew where to take me."

"You're right, I do know you. So, all your _half-baked_ ideas of me only loving Ladybug are now irrelevant." With a lopsided grin at his own pun, he placed his clawed gloves on the mattress, either side of her. "I've been denying my own little crush on you, Marinette, for quite a while. I don't have to ignore it anymore."

Leaning back, Marinette swallowed as she eyed him. "Who are you?"

Smirking, he placed a kiss on her cheek. "I'm your partner."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it."

Chat Noir returned to the bed and reclined on his side, curling around her as he rested his head in his hand. "I know what you're asking and I want to show you, but I don't think now is the right time. Besides you've kept me in suspense for years, I think you can suffer a little like I have."

"Chat," she growled as she smacked his arm. "You suck."

"So, you don't like it when I have the upper hand." He traced his finger from her shoulder to her wrist, then his voice lost its playfulness. "Think about what happened today. Tell me you experienced the same connection I felt."

The akuma fight resurfaced in Marinette's mind. With Adrien out of danger, she'd boarded the train and come across Redemption as he'd been striking out at people retaliating. She'd watched in horror as those touched by his silver glove faded into ghost-like phantoms. It had been some time since Hawkmoth had issued such a macabre power. The moment Redemption spotted her, he zeroed in, making it hard to keep her distance. Somehow, he managed to manoeuvre her into a corner as she'd prepared to call on her lucky charm, and despite her fast reflexes he'd touched her. In that second she'd instinctively dropped her yoyo and it had been her saving grace. No, she was wrong, her partner had been her saving grace.

More often than not, it was Chat Noir who was corrupted by an akuma's power, and she frequently had to fight against him in order to restore him to normal. But in this case, she had been afflicted. Redemption had left her the moment she'd dematerialised. Hawkmoth had been furious that he hadn't taken her miraculous first, and as usual the akuma assured him that he had a plan in mind. Ladybug somehow doubted it, Redemption seemed far too focussed on wiping out his fellow passengers.

With him gone she'd tried desperately to pick up her yoyo but her hands had phased through it no matter which angle she attempted. The phantoms around her seemed to be in a place of despair, she tried talking to them, but they remained in their seats fading with a far greater speed than her own. She could only assume her miraculous was preventing her from vanishing as fast. In that moment, she decided to stay where she was and call for her partner. As she waited the ghostly passengers faded further until they disappeared entirely, fuelling the black smoke, and departing out the doors to fog up the platform. The longer she shouted the more disjointed her voice became and a heavy weariness sapped her strength.

When Chat Noir eventually appeared she'd been so relieved, especially when she saw he was unchanged. He easily picked up her yoyo and she tried to go to him, but she found it difficult to move. That altered the moment he touched her. His corporeal form seemed to disrupt the fading process. As he'd said, his touch made her whole again and she was starting to wonder if there was a deeper meaning in that. They'd worked side by side for years, understanding each other with the simplest of gestures, but they'd never been as physically connected during a battle. She had needed him in a way she never had before. When he'd called upon his cataclysm she'd actually felt the charge of his power as it flooded through him, awakening her to the intense link they'd always shared. It was like she finally understood that they were two pieces of the one puzzle, completed and complimented by the other. It dawned on her that Chat Noir was right, they were meant to be close and yet she continued to push him away.

With wide eyes, Marinette returned from her reverie and gazed at Chat. He was studying her from his reclined position on the bed, the fingers of his free hand splayed beside hers as if he was waiting for the opportunity to join them together. "Is that an epiphany I see in your eyes?"

"Is that conceit, I see in yours?"

"Never milady," he rolled onto his back and smiled up at her. "I'm just wondering if I've surpassed your wonderful Adrien."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because I doubt you've ever experienced the connection we shared today with anyone else." Chat lifted his hand to study his claws. "Plus, he might have been a tad jealous when he realised I've seen your bedroom before he has"

"What! Adrien's here?"

"Well he was with you before the train attack and he was supposed to be coming here with you. Imagine his surprise at the turn of events."

"What did you say to him?"

He shrugged, "I may have warned him off, told him you were mine."

"You said what!"

"Since you kissed me like you were intent on claiming me as your own, I thought it only fair to announce the truth to the guy you're desperately trying to forget."

Marinette grabbed his bell and yanked him upright. "I did no such thing. I can't believe you said that to him."

"Are you trying to tell me you still want this guy?" There was a smugness to Chat Noir's eyes that had Marinette confused. Shouldn't he be jealous?

"Chat Noir, you have no idea what's going on in my head. I can't believe you know my identity and yet you continue to play with me like this is some sort of twisted game."

"A game? This is not a game. Down there, on the train I thought I was going to lose you. Hell, my touch made you whole again, surely that means something. I could feel your power when you called upon your magic, didn't you feel mine?"

A muscle in her jaw twitched as she studied the desperation in his eyes. She looked away as she replied, "Yes, I did."

He caught her chin between his thumb and finger. "And the connection? You never answered me, you felt it too?"

"Chat, we were under some pretty strange circumstances." She didn't want to admit the truth. If she did, she had no doubt that he would double his efforts to win her over. They had to remain as fighting partners only.

"Don't brush this off. Stop rejecting me for once and listen to your heart instead of your head."

"I don't know what to think, okay. Just give me some space."

"Says the girl who grabbed me and kissed me like I meant the world."

"Space, Chat."

"Fine," he said as he dropped his hand from her face, then eyed her sideways. "I suppose you want to talk to Adrien."

"He's still here?"

Chat Noir looked out the window. "I can get him. By the way I didn't say anything to him. I was just messing with you."

Marinette picked up her pillow and threw it at him as he hurried out. "Men," she growled as he slammed the door.

* * *

 **And things just got more complicated. Chat Noir seems awfully determined to escape the friend zone, one way or another.**

 **I want to say a big thank you to everyone who reviewed, I'm glad you really enjoyed the akuma fight. It was something I worked on for a while. Thanks for all the support. I've got more chapters to write... Cheers :)**


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter Eight_

Chat Noir shut the door to Marinette's room just as the pillow thumped on the door. Leaping down the stairs, he quickly went to the balcony door, slid it open and closed then ducked behind the sofa. There he transformed back into Adrien, only to be given the evil eye from Plagg, before he quickly settled himself on the sofa. He was pushing a few stray strands of his hair out of his eyes as he assumed Marinette would be straight out, but she wasn't. Sitting with his own thoughts, he began to wonder if it had been right to conceal his identity. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Especially since Marinette didn't seem too keen on starting a romantic relationship with either side of his persona. He considered his best option was to pursue her first, but now he was having doubts about his decision. He pried open his pocket and looked at Plagg, "Did I do the right thing?"

"No, you're an idiot. You should have told the truth."

"But she doesn't like me, Plagg. At least not enough."

"She'll like you even less when you eventually spill your guts."

Adrien ran a nervous hand through his blonde locks and almost leapt into the air with fright when Marinette opened her door. "Hi," he said with an overenthusiastic grin.

"Adrien, you're here."

"Yeah, I thought I'd hang around. You slept a lot longer than I thought you would."

"You've been here the whole time?" Her eyes darted to the bedroom door and he was pretty sure he knew what she was thinking, but decided it best to avoid the subject.

"Yeah. I had a snooze while I was waiting."

There was an uneasiness to her voice. "Did you talk to Chat Noir?"

"He wanted to stay and make sure you were okay."

"Don't you find that a little strange?"

"He's a dude running around in a cat-suit, that in itself is weird. Doesn't mean that he's untrustworthy though."

"Just so you know, I'm not… seeing Chat Noir."

"I didn't say you were. You seem awfully defensive, are you secretly crushing on the cat?" He knew he was digging a deeper hole, but he couldn't help himself. As expected Marinette turn into a flustered mess.

"No, I-I'm not interested in that alley cat. He was just looking out for me."

"I suspect he has a soft spot for you, I doubt he visits every damsel in distress he saves. Although I'm a little confused, how did you end up back on the train?"

Panic shone in her eyes. "I, um, I went back down to find you."

"Ladybug beat you to it."

"You must have got a thrill out of that. Did you confess your love?"

Realising he needed to play down on his feelings for Ladybug, he quirked an unimpressed eyebrow. "Come on, as if a superhero is interested in me."

"Adrien, have you looked in the mirror recently? You're considered hot stuff to the majority of the female population."

A cheeky grin graced his lips as he leant back, crossing his arms behind his head. "Why thank you for the compliment, Marinette. Does that mean you think I'm hot stuff too?"

She began to cough. "I, uh, um…"

Standing up, the model placed his hands behind his back and peered through his bangs as he walked towards her. Closing the space between them, he bent down to look her in the eye. "You don't have to say anything, Marinette. I was just teasing." With her so near he found his gaze drifting to her lips. She immediately sidestepped him.

"I better get that suit for you to try on."

Drawing a deep breath, Adrien straightened to his full height as he turned to face her. "Sounds like a plan." He continued to wonder if hiding his true identity had been such a good idea. She might have been happy about it. His gaze travelled to her bedroom door, perhaps he would have still been in there with her, doing much more pleasant things. Yet she was clearly flustered by his behaviour as Adrien, but which side of him was she more interested in? Up until this morning he would have said the side without the mask, but after that kiss as Chat he wasn't so sure.

Twisting his ring around his finger, he considered telling her the truth. No doubt she'd be mad but was it better to do it now? He watched as she walked towards him carrying the suit in her arms. There was an openness between them when the masks were out of the way. She was often nervous around him but she was always herself. It was different when they were superheroes, she always held him at arms-length, or had until today. A sense of guilt washed over him as she approached. "Marinette, there's something I should…"

"What is it?"

His eyes searched hers and he bit back what he was intending to say. "I uh, I just wanted to say you were very brave today."

She tucked her hair behind her ear. "You think so?"

"On the train, you were willing to take a punch for me. That guy could have really hurt you."

"But he didn't. You turned the tables to protect me." Her brow furrowed. "You were remarkably fast."

And there was the perfect opportunity to tell her the truth, but he didn't. "I've got quick reflexes from fencing."

"Yeah, I guess you would." She handed him the suit. "You can use my room to get changed."

"Okay, thanks." Fingering the hanger, he made his way upstairs, inwardly cursing his indecision. He was completely lost in his thoughts as he stripped off, so much so that he didn't noticed the knock on the door.

"You forgot the shirt and tie," Marinette explained as she walked in.

Adrien froze with one leg out of his jeans. "Uh, thanks." Her eyes widened before her head whipped away. With a trembling hand, she held out her arm, dangling the shirt from her fingertips. The model placed his hand over hers, taking the opportunity to touch her as he retrieved the shirt. He noted that her palm was sweaty and raised an eyebrow in amusement as she remained in place. Veering around he kicked off his jeans and put on the shirt. As he adjusted the cuffs he spied her over his shoulder. "Did you forget something?"

Blue eyes darted between his face and his bare legs, eventually landing on his wrists. "I-I thought you might need help with the cufflinks."

"Can I put my pants on first or is there something else you want?"

Marinette's spine stiffened. "No, no, I can wait."

"Suit yourself." Spinning away, Adrien stepped into the slacks. Glancing over his shoulder he spied her gnawing her own knuckle as she made a hasty retreat. Smirking at his reflexion, the model knotted his tie then picked up the jacket and opened the door. "Where do you want me?"

Marinette leapt up from the sofa. "The bedroom is fine."

"I like a lady who knows what she wants."

"Flirt."

"I couldn't resist."

"Have you been taking tips from Chat Noir?" She paled as she realised what she said.

With the subject raised, he wanted to know what she was thinking about his alter ego. "I believe you were the one spending time with him."

The colour returned to her face with a vengeance. "Nothing happened between me and Chat."

"Are you sure about that? Your face is awfully red."

"I accidentally kissed him."

"Is it even possible to accidentally kiss someone?"

"I-I didn't mean to. It just kind of happened."

"Sounds like chemistry to me."

Marinette sagged onto the sofa. "It can't work, Adrien. I can't be with him."

"Why? I'm sure he's just a regular guy under that outfit."

"But I don't know who he really is and-and-"

"Marinette, you're overthinking it. Just breathe." He sat beside her, shuffling over to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "Look at it this way. I'm famous for being a model. People assume they know me because they've seen my pictures and read my interviews. They only know a fraction of me, yet they believe they know all of me. It's the same with Chat Noir, people only know so much. It's the people who are close to us that know who we really are. You know me Marinette, far better than anyone else, but at the same time you don't know all of me. That being said, do you believe there's any reason why you couldn't like Chat, even if there are things you don't know?"

"It's more complex with Chat. Knowing him on a deeper level could be damaging to him, he needs to protect his identity from Hawkmoth."

"But it's it his choice if he wants to share that with you."

"I just don't think it's worth it."

Pain laced through Adrien's chest at that comment. "Why?"

"It's complicated, hell my entire life is complicated."

He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her close, ignoring his own turmoil as he spoke against her hair. "Complicated or not, I'm here for you okay." Her arms twisted around him and she snuggled in.

Marinette knew she should move away, but it was Adrien holding her and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't deny the attraction she still felt for him. Her fight to sever her romantic feelings for him was failing fast, it felt far too appealing being in his arms and curling her body against his. The side of her face was pressed to his, and as she shifted she felt the faint rub of stubble on his jaw. Apparently, he'd missed a spot when shaving. Without thinking she caressed his other cheek with her hand, finding it smooth.

"What are you doing?" There was a breathlessness to his voice that excited her. Was it possible that she affected him as much as he did her? Maybe she was imagining it, but as the heel of her hand rested against his neck she felt the rapid speed of his pulse.

"You're a little prickly on this side."

"Oh, do I need a shave?" He went to move away but her hand held the cheek she'd stroked.

"It's only here, on your jaw." She nudged her chin on the offending patch, and he exhaled sharply.

"About there?" His fingers grazed the same spot on her own cheek.

"Yes."

Adrien cocked his face and caught her eye. "Don't tell my father. I'll be shot for failing to man-scape properly."

"Your secret is safe with me."

The corner of his lip turned upward. "I know it is." Her eyes wandered down his face to his lips and he forgot to breathe for a moment. He didn't move, nor did she, only his eyes drifted questioningly between her blue depths and her mouth. Unable to handle the anticipation any longer, he spoke and made her jump. "Am I in danger of receiving an accidental kiss?"

Shock replaced the dazed look in her eyes and she shoved him away to wrap her arms around herself. "How can I even be thinking about kissing another guy! I'm so confused."

Adrien winced, he was making a right royal mess of things. He knew what he had to do. "Marinette, you're not actually considering kissing two guys in one day."

An incredulous look settled on her face. "No, I'm not."

"You missed what I'm trying to say. That you're just-"

She cut him off, "A friend. I know that, and I realise you wouldn't want me to kiss you."

"Again, you're misinterpreting."

"Adrien, you've made it pretty clear over the years. You're not interested in me that way."

"That's where you're wrong, Marinette. I am interested."

She launched to her feet, shaking her head vehemently. "You can't be. You've always said we're just friends."

"And for a long time that was true, but now I want more. You're something of an enigma and I want to unravel the puzzle."

Marinette's eyes narrowed as she considered this recent development. Once more, she thought of the moment she'd confessed her crush to Chat Noir. It seemed the pivotal moment of Adrien's attitude change. She found herself gazing at her bedroom door, there was something she was missing, she was certain of it. "What changed your mind?"

The model rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes dropped to the carpet. "It's not easy to explain. It was kind of a revelation."

"Was it something I said?"

"Yeah, it was."

"Or was it something I said to someone else?"

Adrien gulped. "Um, well…"

"I knew it!"

There was a wild look in the model's eyes as he sank back into the sofa. "Um, what is it you think you know?"

Marinette opened her mouth to gloat at her deduction skills then paused. She'd interrogated Chat Noir about speaking to Adrien and he claimed he had not. Her mouth slowly closed as Adrien continued to stare at her. "You found out."

The blood drained from his face. "Care to elaborate?"

"You found out about m-my crush."

Letting out a heavy breath, the model visibly sagged as he closed his eyes and mumbled. "It's just that."

"Sorry, what did you say?"

He sat up sharply. "I said, it was that."

"How did you find out exactly?"

"Nino has hinted at it for a while." He squeaked, skirting the truth, knowing his best bud would kick his ass.

Marinette eyed him sceptically. "Are you sure it was Nino."

Adrien fingered his collar. "You said something before about helping me with these cufflinks."

The dark-haired girl dropped to a crouch, placing a hand on each of his knees as she leaned towards him with a threatening glare. "Are you trying to change the subject, Agreste?"

"Maybe."

"What is it you're not saying?"

"I look pretty spectacular in black."

* * *

 **Hmm, I think Adrien's resolve is crumbling... what do you think?**

 **Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. I've been burning the candle at both ends for too long and it caught up to me. But I'm feeling reenergised so, onward to the next chapter. Thanks for the support :)**


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter Nine_

Marinette screwed up her nose, bewildered by Adrien's comment. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"N-nothing! Well, I mean, um-" Adrien cut himself off with a frustrated huff, certain the hole he was digging for himself had now reached gigantic proportions. Plagg was right, he was an idiot. He glanced up again, noting the confusion in her eyes. "Let me start over. Have you ever had someone in your life who completely turned your world upside down? Someone who you desperately want to win over but everything you do seems to be wrong?"

Marinette's gaze softened with understanding. "Yes, I have."

Unable to hold her gaze, he shrugged on the suit jacket and stared down at his hands, glaring at what had essentially been the source of all his troubles.

Marinette was growing more concerned by the minute. Something weird was going on with Adrien today. He kept bouncing back and forth between moods and she was having trouble keeping up. What was happening?

Her gaze slid down to his hands as he fiddled nervously with his silver ring. Something about the shape struck her as odd. She could have sworn it looked just like- but it couldn't be… could it? Her mouth went dry as she finally put together the last pieces of the puzzle, the ones she'd ignored because they'd seemed downright ludicrous.

Shocked eyes travelled up his arms and paused at the blonde hair curling against his shirt collar, hair that kicked out in the most familiar way. She eyed his jaw and the cut of his profile, mentally adding a black mask and cat ears that weren't in place. The pound of her heart thumped in her ears. Chat Noir hadn't told Adrien about what she'd said because he was Adrien. It explained why the model had shown up on her doorstep the next day, exuding an unusual vibrancy. That was why he'd said her name with such reverence – he'd found his lady.

Adrien peeked up at her. A faint blush stained his cheeks as she continued to stare, trying to make sense of it all. If he was Chat Noir, why had he decided to withhold his identity? Why had she woken up with Chat beside her and not Adrien? What was he playing at? The pounding of her heart eased as shock gave way to suspicion.

If there was one thing she knew about her partner, it was that he craved her attention. Any time she paid him a compliment he would take the opportunity to close the space separating them. Whenever she touched him, he reciprocated. But she'd always been determined to keep things professional between them. Of course, there were times when he threatened to overstep what she deemed appropriate and then she pushed him away. It dawned on her that their situation was reversed when they were outside the masks. She had yearned for Adrien the same way Chat Noir did for Ladybug.

Marinette grabbed his hand and stood up, pulling him along with her. She circled him, adjusting the jacket into place from the rear, before slowly making her way to his chest. She smoothed down his shirt and tie while doing up the top button of the jacket. Lifting her head, she locked eyes with a still silent Adrien. "I always thought you looked good wearing green. It accentuates your eyes."

As expected, Adrien leaned slightly closer. There was a minor shift in his body language that screamed of Chat Noir's confidence. Without the mask, the blonde was usually more reserved. She supposed he was used to people encroaching on his personal space, so he always maintained some distance. Chat Noir didn't. At least not with her.

"Is that why you picked the green shirt and tie?"

"Mm, you could say it was a combo. I'm used to seeing highlights of green paired with black."

Timid emerald eyes searched hers. Oh yes, guilt clung to that gorgeous face. He knew exactly what she was implying. He opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him with a finger to his lips and watched his cheeks flame. Normally Adrien had the advantage in their relationship, though he remained oblivious of his effect on her, but now the tables were turned. Marinette leaned closer, her finger still on his lips. Her frustration continued to simmer. She didn't understand why her partner wanted to play games, but he was about to learn exactly who he was messing with.

"As good as you look right now, I think I preferred catching you in next to nothing in my room." Adrien's pupils dilated and his mouth opened slightly beneath her finger. She trailed her fingertip down to his chin and tapped it gently. "But there's a problem. You lied to me, Chat."

His hands grasped her shoulders. "I didn't lie, I just kind of… avoided the truth."

"Why would you keep your identity from me? I thought you'd shout it from the rooftops as soon as you discovered mine."

"I wanted to but…" his eyes searched hers.

"But what?"

"You keep saying you've been trapped in the friend zone, but so have I." Her eyes widened at his proclamation and he held up a hand as she opened her mouth. "I know I come across as confident and cocky but deep down, I'm insecure. You of all people know my family life hasn't been great. My father is cold and my mother's been gone a long time. I've had very little guidance in what a loving relationship should be like, at least from within the walls of a home. It may seem weird but I've taken a lot of tips in how to win a girl over from anime. Of course, that didn't stop you from constantly rejecting me."

"Rejecting you? Adrien I've always said yes to anything you've wanted to do with me."

The model lifted his right hand, displaying his silver ring. "I'm talking about when I'm transformed. It might seem like I let what you say slide, but I'm not as immune to your rebuffs as you think I am."

Her voice was a whisper. "Oh."

"I had no idea that you had a crush on me outside the mask. Believe me, if I'd been aware I would have pursued you."

"But only because I was Ladybug."

Adrien studied the hardness in Marinette's eyes. "What is your hang up with that? You are Ladybug, how can you divide yourself in two?"

"Since Ladybug is put on a pedestal, people only focus on my good points. Sure, I make mistakes in battle but that's not what they look at."

"That's fame, milady. As I said before, people see what they want to see. Besides, I'm your partner. I know you more intimately than anyone else, at least when it comes to being a superhero. How can you brush off my feelings so easily?"

"Because you're in love with a fantasy."

"You're very real to me, Marinette."

"That's just it. You never loved me as Marinette. We're friends but that's all you've ever wanted from me. I tried to show you I was interested in more, numerous times, but you shrugged them off as friendly gestures."

"Because I was waiting for you as Ladybug. You wouldn't share your identity with me so I held back from pursuing anyone else. There's been a couple of times I thought I'd found the girl who was my partner, yet each time I've been wrong. Kagami is a prime example. She's a magnificent fighter with features similar to your own. I can't even describe how smitten I was when I initially thought I'd found you. But as soon as she was akumatised, I realised I was mistaken. The attraction quickly faded because she wasn't the girl I wanted."

"So, you're saying you would have fallen for any girl you thought was Ladybug."

"No! I'm not saying that at all."

"But you just did."

Adrien's jaw clenched as he ran a hand through his hair. "This is exactly why I wanted to keep my identity a secret. I knew you'd push me away as soon as you discovered I'm also Chat."

"You thought toying with my feelings would be more beneficial?"

"No. Yes. Man, I don't know." He flopped down to the sofa clutching his head in his hands. "Why does it have to be so difficult between us? Why can't you be happy that I'm both Adrien and Chat Noir?" The pain in Adrien's voice was unmistakable. "You've made it pretty clear over the years that you weren't romantically interested in me as Chat, but I have always been willing to wait for things to change. I thought that opportunity had come when you told me about your crush, or at least your decision to forget about it. It gave me hope that there was a chance for us to become a couple because you are attracted to at least part of me."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"And what should I have said? Hey Ladybug, the guy you're crushing on is actually me. Sorry I didn't pick up on your feelings outside the mask, my bad. Let's start afresh. Come on, you wouldn't have believed me."

"I would have if you'd dropped your transformation."

"As if you'd let me. Your number one rule is to keep our identities a secret. If I'd even tried to show you, I have no doubt you would have turned away so you didn't see."

Looking to the side, Marinette knew he had a point. She would have found a reason to stop him. Feeling just as distraught, she sagged to the sofa beside him. "You're right."

His fingertips settled cautiously on her knee. "Tell me, if I'd kissed you without the mask, without you knowing I was Chat Noir, what would you have done?"

A heavy lump settled in her throat as she looked up at him. Beautiful, sad green eyes held hers. She unconsciously lifted her hand to his cheek. "I would have kissed you back."

Adrien dipped his head to look at the floor, his blonde hair slipping down to almost his nose. "What would you do if I kissed you now?"

There was so much tension in his shoulders she could tell he was anticipating her rejection. "I don't know what I'd do. Part of me wants to whack you with my yoyo but another part… doesn't."

He perked up so suddenly, she could almost see the tail swishing about behind him. "I suppose that's better than an outright rejection." She couldn't help but reciprocate the cheeky smile he was giving her. It was so reminiscent of her partner that she wondered how she'd missed it in the past. He shuffled closer, peering at her through hair that wasn't as perfect as usual. She glanced up and noticed his blonde mop was almost a merger between the two styles he wore.

Picking up the lock nearest to his nose, she chuckled as it crunched between her fingers. "How much hair product do you use?"

"I've got to be the flawless model, and excessive amounts of hair product come with the territory. I didn't wash it last night, which is why it's like this."

"And to think I always thought your hair would be soft if I ran my fingers through it."

"How often have you considered it?"

"More often than I should admit."

"You should sate your curiosity." With that the model lowered his head.

Marinette's fingers itched, did she dare? Adrien glanced up at her through his bangs and her resistance melted. Her hands trembled as she lifted them, sinking them into the hair at his temples. The model closed his eyes at her touch and she revelled in the feel of his hair, which was softer than she could have ever imagined once she passed through the outer layer. Adrien exhaled shakily and leant closer.

All the reasons why this was a bad idea flew from her mind. Instead her eyes roved over his face and settled on his lips. With her hands in his hair it would take very little to angle his face for a kiss. The certainty that he'd welcome it was heady. Knowing that Adrien wanted her made it almost impossible to resist. Her thumbs framed his face as her fingers splayed in his hair. As she moved closer she caught his intoxicating scent drawing her in. Before she could change her mind, she pressed a feather light kiss to his lips.

Adrien stayed perfectly still, as if he feared any movement would scare her away. Marinette's fingers curled in his hair as she nibbled her way along his bottom lip. Unable to hold back any longer, the blonde wrapped his arms around her and kissed her firmly back.

Marinette's hands dropped from his hair to fist his shirt, her mouth crashing over his as she climbed onto his lap. For a moment Adrien was stunned when she pushed him back into the cushions of the sofa. His hands almost lost their grip on his lady under her ardent assault. But he quickly recovered, his mouth moving just as hungrily against hers. Years of pent up frustration were unleashed as they kissed each other with abandon. This is what they'd wanted for so long and it was sublime.

Suddenly Marinette broke the kiss, panting heavily as she studied him with hooded eyes. "I hope you realise I'm still mad at you for hiding the truth."

He didn't miss the way her eyes trailed hungrily down his body. "If this is how you react when you're angry, I think I'm okay with it."

A growl escaped Marinette's lips before she attacked him again. A chuckle rumbled in Adrien's throat as she kissed him. This seemed to work her up further and her tongue invaded his mouth, as if to silence him. He rolled them over and caught her hands, lifting them over her head to lie her back onto the sofa. Hovering over her, he ran kisses along her jaw and down her neck. She arched against him in response, while she nuzzled his hair.

The shrill ringtone of Marinette's phone cut through the haze. Adrien eased his grip on her wrists and sat up. His lady, however, was not so easily swayed. With her hands free, she snagged his tie and pulled him back for another hot kiss.

"Don't you need to get that?" he asked between smooches.

Marinette's answer was to yank harder on his tie, holding him firmly in place as she paid special attention to his mouth. He mentally shrugged and gave himself up. He was exactly where he wanted to be.

* * *

 **And the friend zone appears to be breached! I suppose we could finish it there but where's the fun in that? So where to now? Wait and see.**

 **Once again, thanks to shamelesslyromantic for help editing and refining this chapter. Plus I was stoked to hit 200 followers and 100 favourites, happy days. Thanks for reading.**


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

Marinette's hands remained firmly latched onto Adrien's shirt collar when they finally parted for air. She could hardly believe she was making out with the man of her dreams. Or that this was Chat Noir without his costume. How had she been so blind? No, wait. She knew the answer to that, Adrien and Chat Noir acted very differently. Sure, there were hints of each in the opposite persona but certain traits were much stronger depending on the guise.

Currently, the boldness in Adrien's eyes was pure Chat Noir, and it left no room for doubt as to how much he truly desired her. Seeing that look outside the mask was going to be her undoing, and it certainly didn't help that his mouth was still hanging slightly open as he panted, trying to regulate his breathing. The moment her eyes fell to his lips, he was closing in on her again. Now that he knew he was allowed to kiss her, he seemed determined to do it as much as possible.

But she knew if they started kissing again she probably wouldn't stop. She'd had a reason for calling him over and it wasn't to make out. Still, she was undeniably tempted to forget the whole suit fitting and relieve him of his clothes instead. She struggled for some semblance of self-control, trying to find the strength to push him away, because Adrien seemed set on continuing. The hand at her nape was sinking deeper into her now loose tresses and his nose brushed against hers. "You're thinking too much again, Marinette," he whispered playfully.

"I have a project to finish."

"Are you sure about that? I'd much rather concentrate on what we're doing now." His lips ghosted hers and she wanted to succumb.

"Adrien," she pleaded but couldn't help kissing him back briefly.

"Yes?" There was far too much satisfaction in his voice.

She scrunched her eyes closed, trying to steel her will. "You need to keep your clothes on."

He chuckled before kissing a trail to her ear and whispering, "Is that so?"

This man was going to be the death of her. Already her heart was beating that fiercely she half expected it to explode. She had to remember this wasn't just Adrien, he was also Chat Noir and she was supposed to be annoyed with him. Then it dawned on her she had the exact same power over him, all she needed to do was reverse the roles. With this in mind, she licked the shell of his ear before replying, "you do realise the sooner I get the suit fitted the sooner you can take it off."

Adrien sat back with wide eyes. "O-okay." Apparently, he wasn't used to her being so forward. A giggle escaped her when he stood up a tad awkwardly. The model's hair was wildly dishevelled in a distinctly Chat Noir fashion. His tie was askew and a number of buttons on his shirt were undone from when her hands had explored the plains of his chest. The jacket had also been edged to his shoulders and he shrugged to ease it back into place.

A blonde eyebrow quirked at her amusement. "You did this to me."

"Sorry, I was just admiring my handiwork."

The smile he shot her shone with his happiness. "You should take a look in the mirror." Reaching up she realised that he'd released her pigtails from their ties at some point, and her own shirt hem had been tugged up from her jeans. He looked pretty pleased with himself. She wondered if this meant they'd finally started their way down the road to becoming a couple.

Shifting his feet, the model continued to adjust his clothing. Marinette couldn't resist the temptation to help him. His hands dropped away as she did up his buttons and she felt his eyes on her while she smoothed down his shirt. It was going to need an iron. Large fingers tucked her hair behind her ear as she finished. As she looked up she noticed his gaze lingered on her earrings. "Checking out my miraculous?"

"It's kind of odd to see them like this and know what they are."

"I suppose it's magical camouflage. Your ring is pretty distinctive when its active. If it was like that all the time it would be easy to recognise, especially since it's on your hand."

Adrien flexed his fingers as he looked at his own miraculous. "Speaking of which, I'll apologise in advance for any shortage of cheese you might have in future. Plagg doesn't know when to stop."

"Interesting, I'd assumed I would have to double my cookie supply."

A blonde eyebrow lifted. "Your kwami likes cookies? Geez Plagg, it would have been nice if you'd had a sweet tooth. I get sick of smelling like camembert."

Marinette giggled, "You don't smell that bad."

"Hmm, but I do smell, right?"

She pinched her fingers together. "Just a bit. But mainly of cologne."

"I've got to do something to counter the smelly cheese."

Plagg snorted as he exited the fridge, no longer needing refuge from the kissing couple. "Don't disrespect the camembert. Speaking of which, there's none here."

"That's because Marinette has taste."

"You're only saying that because she finally kissed you."

Adrien scowled at his kwami. "That's enough."

Tikki gave Plagg a shove. "Leave them be."

"Still such a killjoy," he replied with a roll of his eyes. Plagg then darted away with Tikki hot on his heels.

"And by way of introduction, that was Plagg." Adrien said with a shake of his head.

"He seems like quite a character."

"You have no idea." Turning back to her with a rueful sigh, he finished adjusting his suit and stood tall. "I'm ready."

Marinette didn't waste any time. She checked the suit with professional precision, which was now easier since there was a reward for her patience. Luckily there wasn't going to be a lot of alterations to do. With pinning completed, Adrien was giving her a hot stare. "Does this mean I can strip now?"

As much as she liked the idea they really needed to talk. "You've got some explaining to do first, mister."

"Oh, alright. I guess I should get changed first. I wouldn't want to rumple this suit any further." Wiggling his eyebrows, the model disappeared into her room. She ignored the fact that he hadn't closed the door behind him.

* * *

Adrien leaned back into the sofa with Marinette's legs resting on top of his thighs. It was such a casual and comfortable thing to do, he wondered if she was trying to lull him into a false sense of security, especially given the look in her eyes. "So, what do you want to know?" he asked.

"What were you thinking when you first figured it out?"

He took a deep breath. "I was gobsmacked. Then the irony struck me. We're attracted to each other, but our dual identities had gotten in the way. When you told me that you were giving up on your crush on me as Adrien I was completely stunned. You unintentionally revealed that you were attracted to me, and I figured out your identity. My immediate reaction was that I needed to fix what I'd managed to screw up, a romantic relationship with you."

Adrien laid a hand on her shin and continued. "I thought flirting with you outside the mask would change things. And while I was over the moon that you had wanted me as Adrien, I was also hurt that you didn't want me as Chat. But then you pushed me away in both forms and I started doubting you wanted me at all, hence the shadow games."

Marinette scratched her chin thoughtfully. "I thought I was reading you wrong. There's been so many times I thought you were flirting with me in the past, but then something would happen and suddenly you were reminding me of what a good friend I was."

The model began fiddling with his ring. Marinette realised it was something he resorted to when he was uneasy. "Yeah, I'd do that when I thought I'd overstepped the mark. You've thrown me mixed signals for as long as I've known you. I always thought that you were nervous around me because of who my father is. I know he's your idol but at the same time I also understood you were very conscious of not using me to get to him."

"Adrien, I was nervous because I found you so utterly gorgeous that my brain turned to mush and my mouth lost the ability to form words whenever I was around you. More often than not I felt like a complete idiot but then you were always so patient and tolerant that I kept getting more and more attracted to you. But you were just as bad at throwing mixed signals. So many times, I've thought, this is finally it! That you'd fallen for me just as hard as I'd fallen for you, only for you to say or do something that completely contradicted what I thought was going on. As disappointed as I was, I didn't want to say anything because having your friendship was still better than nothing."

"Wow, now I really feel like a jerk."

Marinette scooted closer to him. "Do you understand why I was so hesitant in accepting your advances?"

"Yeah, but you completely threw me when you kissed me as Chat Noir after our battle on the train."

A blush spread across her face. "Let's just say I had kissing on the brain after all your morning antics."

Adrien gripped her hips and lifted her onto his lap. "Well I'm right here and happy to supply you with as many kisses as you want."

"I really should alter that suit."

"Later. Right now, you need to kiss your boyfriend."

"Oh, so you're assuming you're my boyfriend now?"

"I better be after all this confusion."

"I think that can be arranged."

* * *

For a week Marinette walked around in a blissful daze. She practically floated through her daily routine and managed to alter the suit for her project. She spent time with Adrien every day, be it as their regular selves or their alter egos. Although, she thought it unwise to flaunt their budding relationship while transformed in public. It worried her that Hawkmoth might attempt to exploit it if the opportunity arose.

Even now as she sat as Ladybug, cradled by Chat Noir's legs and leaning her back to his chest, she remained on edge as she listened to his reassurances. "We've always been close, Milady. Hawkmoth knows that. I don't see the big deal if he discovers we're a couple."

She rested her hands on his raised knees. "He'll target us in different ways. We already know he likes finding means to pit you against me."

Chat Noir wrapped his arms around her and laid his chin on her shoulder. "Yet you still manage to save the day."

"But what happens if I can't? What happens if you manage to overpower me?"

"What if the moon falls out of the sky and lands on your head? Come on bug-a-boo, you're overthinking things."

"Maybe. But this is new territory for us."

"A lot of people already assume we're romantically involved. Just think of it as a natural progression. Besides it might stop you from volunteering me for akuma target practice."

"No, that's in your job description."

"Pft, sure it is."

"Speaking of jobs, I need you to model that suit again tomorrow."

"I know, you've only reminded me like a thousand times already."

She shuffled sideways and leant on his right leg, looking him in the eye. "Are you saying I'm a nag?"

Chat Noir looked to the sky, tapping his chin as he made the pretence of thinking it over. "Hmm, if the shoe fits."

A sharp elbow dug in his ribs. "We're not talking shoes. That suit better fit you. Tikki had said some of her cookies had vanished, but you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Are you suggesting I'm getting fat?"

"Not if the suit fits."

Chat burst out laughing. "Oh, you're so asking for tickle torture." Before she could reply, he began tickling her sides.

"Stop it!" she giggled as she squirmed.

"Sorry, what was that? I didn't hear you."

"I said stop it!" She continued to writhe.

"Nope, that's not what I need to hear."

Ladybug rolled to her belly, landing on his chest and capturing his face between her hands. He continued to grin at her with his pearly whites until she blew a giant raspberry on his cheek.

"Oh no you didn't!" He gasped, all tickling ceasing.

"Oh yes I did."

"You realise this means war."

She laid another one on his opposite cheek.

"Dammit woman, you have no idea what you've just started." And with that Chat Noir lifted one of her pigtails and retaliated. "You better hope no one has a drone up here."

"Why?" she puffed before attacking him again.

"Because there will be no doubt that we're together if we're seen rolling around like this."

"Then surrender, Chat."

"Nah, either way I'm coming out of this a winner."

* * *

 **Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. Your patience is appreciated. So the lovebirds are together now, how's that going to work with Adrien's fame? Stay tuned.**

 **Once again, thanks to shamelesslyromantic for editing support, and thanks to you the reader too!**


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter Eleven_

Chat Noir had a wide grin on his face as he swept his way across the city. Actually, that smile had been plastered across his face for almost a fortnight. Winning over his dream girl after _years_ of pining had that effect on a guy. Plus, there was also his cheeky plan to surprise her. She'd spoken to him earlier as Adrien, telling him what time he needed to be over to prep for her assessment. He'd said he would head over immediately but had neglected to mention that he was doing it as his alter ego.

As he neared her apartment, he shot his staff up high, giving him a view through her glass window that no one else could see. She was scurrying around in a fluster as expected. With a chuckle he swept down and landed on his lady love's balcony. His cat ears swivelled while he stood outside the door, tracking her as she raced across the room to retrieve something.

Lifting a gloved fist, he considered knocking, then smirked as he noticed that the glass door was unlocked. Glancing from side to side, the superhero silently opened the door and slipped inside. When Tikki spotted him, he pressed a finger to his lips and she nodded in understanding. With very little effort Chat Noir snuck into Marinette's bedroom and lay seductively on his side upon her bed. He could barely suppress his grin when she walked in to retrieve his suit.

The poor girl nearly leapt out of her shoes. "Chat!" she grumbled as she whacked him with a pillow.

With a gentle swing of his baton he freed the pillow from her grasp and snatched it away. "Hey there, Princess."

"You're not planning on wearing _that_ to my class?"

A rich chuckle came from her partner as he rolled over onto his back. "Now there's an idea. But I don't think you'd be able to pass this off as your own work."

"No, that's all Plagg. Although, remind me to ask him why he placed a bell on you. Do you secretly hunt birds behind my back or something?"

"You know I'm allergic to feathers."

"Mice, then?"

"I prefer to prowl around with my lady." With that he lunged forward, wrapped his arms about her waist and pulled her onto the bed, rolling her so he was propped up on his elbows above her. His face hovered so close to hers that his blonde bangs were brushing her forehead.

As soon as his feline eyes drifted to her lips, her hand splayed across his masked face and pushed him off, putting some space between them. "Chat! We don't have time for this."

He gave her an innocent look through her fingers. "I was just testing to see if my bell tinkled when hunting, but it only seems to when it's tapped."

"Fantastic."

"I think it's inconclusive. Would you tap me?" Chat Noir shot her a cheeky smirk.

"Are we still talking about the bell?"

He gave a nonchalant shrug. "Are you suggesting you'd like to tap this?" he said, gesturing to himself with flourish.

Shaking her head with a smirk, she stood then flicked his bell, which dinged in response.

"Ah, it works. But you didn't answer the question."

Hooking her fingers around the bell she dragged him up to his knees. "Chat Noir, right now I need Adrien Agreste."

"With but a single kiss, your wish shall be granted."

Marinette snatched up his gloved fingers and placed a kiss on his knuckles. "Done."

Lifting both hands, Chat Noir pointed to his mouth. "It needs to be on the lips, bug-a-boo."

"You never specified where." Despite her supposed annoyance, Chat Noir saw the flicker of amusement in her eyes. Then her gaze turned saucy. Cupping his jaw, Marinette dove in and planted a _very_ passionate kiss on her partner's lips. Somehow Chat remained on his rather shaky knees, delighting in the possessive way his girlfriend was kissing him. When she let him go, he flopped down to the bed with a dazed grin on his face. His voice was wistful as he instructed Plagg to drop his transformation.

The magic peeled away his black costume to reveal the model beneath. Adrien watched Marinette during the process and liked the way she looked at him. It was probably the same expression of adoration that he was wearing. "I don't know about you, but all the stress of my day just vanished with that kiss."

The girl studied him before lifting a brow. "You were trying to calm me down?"

"Yeah, but I may have had ulterior motives." He leant forward and whispered, "Just so you know, they involved getting very close to my incredibly beautiful girlfriend."

"Did you break up with me and move on without telling me?"

He clucked his tongue at her. "Marinette, you know I mean you. Or were you just fishing for compliments?"

"Do I want compliments from _the_ Adrien Agreste? Hmm, let me think about that for a minute."

"I'll take that as a yes, oh, amazingly gorgeous woman."

Plagg darted out of his pocket. "Please, I'm going to be sick."

Adrien smirked. "I've heard you sweet talking your cheese, so consider this turnabout."

"Bah, put on the damn suit already."

Marinette grinned, "Listen to your kwami, hot stuff."

The model stood and gave her a scorching once over. "You going to help me undress?"

Sauntering forward, Marinette reached for the bottom of his t-shirt, her fingers brushing the smooth skin of his belly in the process. Then she began lifting the garment with a sultry slowness that made him dizzy. He swallowed as her gaze fell on his exposed abs and he swayed towards her. But she stopped his progress as she tugged the shirt higher and he had to lift his arms so she could take it completely off. The sound of their combined breathing grew louder as they stared at each other. "Adrien, I think I should leave you to do the rest."

He noticed her eyes were busy perusing the contours of his chest. "I'd rather you stayed."

"If I stay we're not going to get to my class on time."

A snigger escaped him at the truth of that. "Okay, but can we revisit this when it's over?"

She traced a finger along his jaw. "You can count on it."

* * *

The atmosphere practically sizzled within the confined space of Marinette's Fiat. Adrien had relaxed his knee so that her hand brushed his leg when she had to change into the lower gears. He didn't miss the amused side glances she gave him with each touch. It seemed his plan to ease her anxiety had worked. He just hoped he hadn't distracted her too much in the process.

After they pulled up in the car park, Adrien went to help Marinette with her portfolio but the girl waved him aside. "That suit needs to be pristine. I don't want any wrinkles or marks on it until after it's been assessed."

The model dropped his hands to his side. "Alright. So where do we need to go?"

"This way," she said indicating to the three-storey building over his shoulder. Adrien adjusted his sunglasses and walked alongside her. He was conscious of the fact that he was in a design school and chances were high that he'd be recognised, it was just a question of when. One of the things he'd learned in the early days of his fame was that if you acted like everyone else you tended to be ignored. If he hunched down and eyed those around him warily, it would draw attention. Instead he walked with a steady step. But there was one thing Adrien couldn't counter – he was a natural head-turner.

Being a full head higher than his partner meant that the model's distinct blonde hair was on full display. His golden mop almost glowed in the mid-morning sunlight and already he sensed the casual glances it attracted. Thankfully he wasn't the only blonde drawing attention, so he hoped to slide under the radar.

When they stepped into the building, the model let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. Marinette weaved her way through the steady crowd of students and Adrien tucked in behind her, head dipped slightly and sunglasses still in place. Most of the other students were too caught up in their own thoughts or conversations to pay much mind to the pair. It was only when they stopped in the hallway outside of Marinette's classroom that he felt the need to worry.

But then he turned to find Marinette studying him as he stood beside her. "Nervous?" she asked as she trailed a finger down his tie.

"Hardly. This isn't exactly the high-pressure catwalk of a fashion show."

"I suddenly feel like I should be insulted."

He snorted. "Don't be. The high-pressure revolves firmly around my father. Your presence is exceedingly preferable."

"I guess I should say thanks?"

Adrien smiled and lifted his sunglasses to sit on his head. "Or maybe I should." Now they were a couple, he had no qualms in reaching out and lavishing Marinette with affection. Resting a shoulder against the wall, he placed his hands on her hips, guiding her closer. Then he cocked his head to the side and pressed a soft kiss just below her ear.

He was rewarded with a playful swat. "Not now, Adrien."

The model gave her a sheepish look as he lifted his hands in mock surrender and took a step back. It was then that he noticed that they had an audience. Students passing by were looking at them with interest and he caught the gist of a few murmurs, mostly along the lines of "OMG that's Adrien Agreste! Was he kissing that girl?"

Sinking his hands into his trouser pockets, Adrien realised this was not the place to show his affection. He needed to be professional. Unfortunately, the need to touch his girlfriend had distracted him from remembering that. He glanced at Marinette as she juggled her design folders. "Are you sure you don't need a hand with that?"

"No, it's okay. I just wanted to double check everything is here. All looks good. Let's go in."

Marinette's shoulders fell into a more confident set as she walked into the room. He followed her with the same self-assurance until the occupants of the room began whispering in hushed tones as their eyes fell on him. The temptation to shift his sunglasses back into place was strong, but it was too late. They recognised who'd walked through the door. Marinette's head was down as she busily sort through her stuff and she didn't seem to notice the muttered comments. Adrien, however, did. "Someone got Adrien Agreste to model, that's so unfair." And, "Geez talk about showing off. She's probably sleeping with him." His head shot up at that last comment and the woman who said it had the decency to blush.

After throwing said woman a glare, he turned back to Marinette and she instructed him to line up with the other guys in suits standing at the side of the room. Eyes continued to follow him as they often did when he modelled. Judging by the way the other men stood he was the only professional. Most of the guys were probably family or friends doing a favour, he inwardly smirked as he watched them pull at their collars and ties.

Adrien assumed that there were at least two budding models in the mix by the way they were staring at him with envy. They held themselves differently, heads lifted proudly as if to impose their self-importance.

Having modelled since childhood, Adrien naturally stood as if he was on display. When he glanced over his shoulder a number of eyes turned away as if nervous to be caught looking. The click of high heels caused the room to fall silent as the teacher Marinette had warned him about strutted into the room.

Strutted was perhaps too kind a word. The woman moved like a hulking predator, her belly bouncing almost as much as her bosom. Yet there was the smoothness of a shark slowly assessing its prey as she eyed the classroom. Red nails that looked more like talons patted at her streaked hair, pulled into a loose bun, with tendrils framing her face as if attempting to distract from her double chin. Her whole demeanour screamed of mutton done up as lamb, but there was nothing docile about this woman.

"Good morning class." She boomed in a voice of authority. Hazel eyes coolly skimmed the students before surveying the gentlemen there to model. Interest lit her gaze as her pupils moved down the line. A lump settled in Adrien's throat as those eyes halted when they landed on him. Good lord he wanted to run when he saw the raw hunger as she raked him with her gaze. Marinette hadn't exaggerated. "Welcome gentleman, I'm Rochelle." She placed her hands behind her back, allowing the blue jacket to open, revealing the tight white blouse that displayed far too much cleavage. Adrien held back his retch as she beamed at him. "It seems we have a professional model in our midst."

Adrien merely nodded in acknowledgement and wasn't particularly surprised by the gasps and hushed chatter. Marinette threw him an apologetic look.

Rochelle continued her study of the remaining men before calling out the first student to present their work. Adrien listened carefully as Rochelle instructed which sections of the suits she wanted to examine. In his head he worked out the best ways to pose to show the details of Marinette's work.

Marinette was the fifth student up. Fully prepared, he walked to the centre of the lecture stand and waited for Marinette to talk through her project. First, she discussed the types of fabric she used and he placed his hands in his pockets and adjusted his stance to display each side of the suit. When she spoke of the lining he opened the jacket and ignored the approving noises from the other students. It was worse when he peeled off the jacket and tossed it over his shoulder so that Marinette could go into the details of the trousers.

As she pointed out the finer details of the suit, he moved into the appropriate poses to accentuate that particular part of the garment. Being a professional, he was able to tune out the hovering teacher for the most part. Still, he was very happy when the opportunity arose to put the jacket back on. Although he grimaced internally when Rochelle lifted the back of the jacket supposedly to examine the trousers' rear stitching in more detail.

When it was over he released a heavy breath and shuffled back into the line-up. Marinette seriously owed him after this. As if sensing his attention, she glanced at him and gave him a subtle thumbs-up.

As class drew to a close Rochelle relayed how the marking process worked and when the students would receive their grades. "And thanks again to the gentlemen who modelled your suits." Adrien felt like he was under a microscope.

With class dismissed, the blonde patiently waited for his girlfriend. Unfortunately, her fellow students seemed to take this as an opportunity to corner him. "Adrien, can I get a photo with you?" asked one girl.

"Uh, I guess so." And that unleashed a tidal wave of unwanted attention. Adrien lost track of how many people wanted a selfie with him. His smile waned with each snapshot until Marinette came to his rescue.

"Sorry people, Adrien's got more on his agenda for the day." There was a collective moan from the students who finally gave him space. With her portfolio submitted, Mariette's hands were free and she wasted no time in linking her fingers with his as she dragged him away from the classroom. This time, though, the corridor was bustling and it seemed the students were aware that a celebrity was amongst them.

Adrien's hand tightened on Marinette's as he dropped his sunglasses into place. He was determined they stay together. As they ventured outside toward the carpark, shock overtook them at the sheer volume of people waiting. "Adrien! Over here!" Some shouted. "No over here!"

"Maybe I should have brought my bodyguard," he said sheepishly to his girlfriend. Marinette's face was set with determination, he recognised that look, it was the one she often wore when she was making a plan as Ladybug. "What are you thinking?"

"It's a long way to my car."

"Not really, it's the sea of people that's the real issue."

She dropped his hand. "You need to find somewhere close to a wall."

"What?"

"Trust me." And with that she nudged him forward with her shoulder. Suddenly he was swamped by people. Various items were shoved under his nose with pens and markers. There were requests for photos. He carefully scribbled on a number of objects as he gradually did as he was instructed. A girl was up in his face, vying for him to sign her bra when there was a collective gasp.

Adrien followed the turned heads and looked up to see Ladybug scaling the wall, her hand outstretched towards him. "Need a fast exit?"

Without hesitation Adrien reached up, grasping her wrist as she latched onto his. Ladybug plucked him from the crowd and launched onto the rooftop. "Sorry everyone, Adrien has a promotion he has to attend. Thanks for understanding."

The blonde raised his hands in a sheepish 'what can you do' gesture before looping his arm over Ladybug's shoulders as she swung him away. As they got further away he couldn't resist asking, "You mentioned a promotion. What exactly does that entail?"

Ladybug laughed, "Did you forget that your title of friend was upgraded to boyfriend?"

"No, I distinctly remember that happening. I also recall your lack of enthusiasm for transferring that to our masked personas."

"I've been giving it some careful consideration and maybe you're right."

"You're feeling guilty about Rochelle and the fiasco that followed, aren't you?"

Her nose scrunched up. "Maybe."

"Does this mean I can kiss Ladybug in public now?"

"Adrien can't, but I'm thinking Chat Noir officially can."

* * *

 **My apologies on the delay for this chapter, some writing comes easy, some comes hard. This chapter fell into that second category.**

 **So now that Ladybug is okay showing public affection with her partner, will that change their fighting dynamic? Stay tuned. Once again thanks for reading and the support :) And to shamelesslyromantic for editing support as usual :)**


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter Twelve_

While it wasn't the first time that Ladybug had carried Adrien Agreste away from the clutches of potential danger, it was however the first time the model glared at her with a petulant jutting bottom lip. "Of all the times to tell me that it's okay for Chat Noir to kiss you, you do it now when I'm not transformed and in no position to do so."

The curl of Ladybug's luscious lips did little to calm Adrien and his ire continued to rise when she somehow managed to manoeuvre her arm, clutching his shoulders, into a position where she was able to playfully tap the end of his nose. "You're so cute when you pout."

"I'm not pouting."

"Oh, you're pouting, Agreste. So much pouting." She smirked. The blonde gave her dirty look and turned his head away from her, lifting his nose snootily in the air. This only resulted in further amusement for Ladybug, who let out a hoot of laughter.

"You're enjoying this far too much. You live to torture me, don't you?" He grumbled as he glanced back at his lady.

The smile on her face grew even wider, flashing her pristine teeth. "Me torture Adrien Agreste? Clearly, you're mistaken. I much prefer to taunt my partner."

"Ha ha. You're the biggest tease, you know that?" He said as he turned his face away in preparation to sulk.

Ladybug's amusement didn't dim as she eyed him from the side of her mask. "Hmm, I don't think I'm any more of a tease than you."

"Ahem, you are talking to an unmasked Chat Noir. And in case you missed the memo Chat Noir would dearly love to kiss Ladybug in public."

"There was a memo? Sorry I haven't checked my inbox."

Adrien ground his teeth together and let out an irritated growl, although he wasn't particularly serious about it. "Do you have any idea how utterly infuriating you are? Or just how much self-restraint I'm exerting right now?"

A smug look settled on Ladybug's face. "But I'm such a good friend, Adrien. What could possibly be infuriating about that?"

Adrien rolled his eyes. "I am never going to live that down, am I?"

"Nope, probably not." She replied as she reeled in the line of her yoyo to land on her own balcony. Dropping his legs, Ladybug opened the glass sliding door, grabbed Adrien by his tie and dragged him inside.

"Plagg, cl-" A firm finger pressed to his lips before he could finish.

"Get changed back into your normal clothes before you go transforming on me."

Adrien's eyebrows dropped sternly and he spoke with dripping sarcasm. "Yes, milady."

She smiled sweetly at him then gave a firm yank of his tie which made him hunch down so she was able to drop a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, hot stuff."

He pried her fingers from his tie, still looking unimpressed. Then he shucked the jacket from his shoulders and placed it on her head as he dashed to her bedroom. Before closing the door, he glanced over his shoulder and haughtily mocked, "I would have done a strip tease for you, but you wanted Chat."

There came a spluttering of incoherent garble in response and Adrien's mood immediately lifted. "Gotcha," he murmured happily to himself.

* * *

Ladybug was contemplating the pros and cons of invading her own bedroom when there was a knock at her front door. Slinking to the spyhole she almost choked when she saw Alya standing on the other side. Slowly stepping away she hoped that her best friend would assume she wasn't home.

Sneaking behind the kitchen bench she quickly transformed back into Marinette and gave a panicked look to Tikki. "I shouldn't be home yet, what if she saw what happened with Ladybug and Adrien?"

Before Tikki could answer, Marinette's phone began ringing. From the doorway came Alya's loud voice, "Marinette I know you're at home."

"Dammit." The dark-haired girl whispered to herself as she stood up and answered the door.

Alya barrelled in the moment she said hello. "So, how did it go? Did you get top marks for borrowing Adrien? Did he snog you in front of the whole class?"

"Alya!" She cringed as she warily looked towards her bedroom door.

Her best friend picked up the line of her gaze and smirked. "Oh, he's still here. Did I interrupt something?"

"No, he's getting changed."

"So why are you here and not in there with him?"

"Alya! Shut up."

"Forgive me if I'm wrong but you did tell me you're dating, right? Or was that a vivid dream that seemed like reality? It wouldn't be the first time it's happened to me." Alya moved to the fridge, hunkering down to grab a bottle of water from the bottom shelf.

Marinette groaned and trailed a hand down her face. "Yes, we're dating but…" She looked up at the sound of her bedroom door opening and watched Chat Noir travel the distance between them with long purposeful strides. It was impossible to miss the wicked glint in his masked eyes. She frantically waved her hands and nudged her head towards the fridge but he paid no mind. Instead he backed her up against the counter, enclosing her with his arms either side of her body, clawed fingers gripping the granite as his hot mouth claimed hers in a searing kiss.

"Damn…" Came Alya's voice through the fog of Marinette's now muddled brain. Chat Noir suddenly broke the kiss. His Adam's apple bobbed as his gaze darted between his girlfriend and her visitor, partly hidden by the open fridge door. "Chat Noir?" Alya gasped, "Is that the real Chat Noir?"

Marinette spun around, pushing Chat behind her protectively. "It's just Adrien. I asked him to dress up." She inwardly cringed at her own explanation. She was never going to live this down.

Alya looked gobsmacked. "But his tail, it twisted into the shape of a love-heart when he kissed you."

"Animatronics," Chat Noir added. "Remember my father is a fashion designer, he's got connections."

"But your eyes, even the whites are green and they look just like Chat Noir's."

"Contact lenses and eyedrops, I wanted to be as realistic as possible." He said while attempting to keep his cat ears still and his tail from doing anything else.

"Wow, just wow." Alya said with an appreciative nod. She turned to Marinette. "Girl, that is commitment right there. That being said, I'm clearly stopping you two from doing whatever kinky roleplaying stuff you're into. I'll leave you to it. Have fun!"

Chat Noir and Marinette stood staring at the door in stunned silence long after Alya's departure. "What just happened?"

Marinette turned to look at Chat. "Beats me but I think Alya just gave us her blessing for whatever."

"I believe the term was kinky roleplaying stuff. Poor Nino, he's going to kill me."

"Why do you say that?"

"If Alya believes I'd go to the sort of lengths she thinks I've gone to for dressing up as Chat Noir to please you, can you imagine what sort of demands she's going to lay on Nino."

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah." Chat Noir said as he crossed his arms. "I thought you were on the phone." Then his eyes moved over Marinette in a much different way, hungrily devouring her with just his gaze. "So then, you've got me alone now. What do you intend to do with me?"

"According to Alya, kinky stuff."

Chat's smile displayed his straight white teeth. "You promised me a kiss in public but you're not in the correct attire." He let out a mock sigh of resignation. "I guess we'll need to keep things behind closed doors."

Marinette looped her arms around his neck. "Woe is you."

"Oh princess, you have no idea."

"Maybe I can improve your situation."

He raised a masked eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

Tightening her hold, Marinette drew Chat Noir closer. Her lips skimmed the wild hair that concealed his real left ear. "Rigorous exploration of your costume."

A groan sounded from her partner as he nuzzled his face into her hair. "I like the sound of that."

"I thought you would." She said as she drew back and slid her hands around his upturned collar. Her eyes remained fixed on his as her fingers found his bell. She gave it a flick and watched as the corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. That look morphed into something far hotter when she enclosed the bell in her fingers and he heard the sound of his zipper being opened.

Yet Chat Noir stayed put, his chest beginning to heave with his increased excitement. Marinette stopped the zipper at the bottom of his sternum, her eyes finally dropping to study his newly uncovered skin. She placed her index fingers on both edges of the open zip, trailing her fingers up the exposed V of his chest until she reached his collarbones. From there her hands delved under the open fabric to glide over his shoulders and up to caress the sides of his neck with her thumbs brushing his jaw.

Marinette's gaze slowly perused his throat, up his jawline to his slightly parted lips and on to his heavily dilated pupils. She drew nearer, slanting her mouth only a whisper away from his. "I'm pleased to inform you that your zipper is fully operational."

"I noticed," he said, breathing hard. His face edging closer as he dipped to capture her lips. But she shied away at the first brush and his jaw clenched.

"I'm not done yet." She stated in a singsong voice. His nostrils flared and a muscle worked in his cheek. She cupped his jaw, "Remember, rigorous exploration."

"Continue," Chat Noir instructed, his voice gravelly.

Marinette's hands returned to the outside of his costume as she stepped away from him, her fingers tracing the line of his suit that ran from his biceps, onto his chest, under his arms and around to his shoulder blades. As she circled to his back, Chat watched her over his shoulder and started purring as she splayed her fingers wide and stroked them down to his waist.

There Marinette stopped to observe his baton. "How does this even stay there?" She latched onto his weapon and tugged it free. "Magnetic?" she wondered out loud.

"Perhaps it's simply my allure." He smirked.

"Hmm, perhaps." She said putting it back in place and watching as it miraculously stayed where it was supposed to be. "Magic, who can explain it."

The swish of his tail caught her eye and she laid her hands at his waist, over his belt. The hard leather was smooth under her touch, she traced her way around him until her fingers collided. To maintain continuous contact, she was now on the verge of leaning against him. She could already feel his body heat and it enticed her closer. Feeling bold, she let her fingers drift up along his abs as she crushed herself into the curve of his spine.

Chat's purring grew louder and he rocked back as if needing as much surface area contact as possible. His arms swung behind him to grip the sides of her thighs. "You're driving me nuts."

"That was the general idea." Marinette confirmed as she lifted up on her toes to kiss his turned cheek. Apparently, that combined with the rub of her body against his, was breaking point for Chat Noir as he released her thighs and spun around in her arms. He wasted no time in claiming her lips, his mouth working feverishly against hers.

Marinette was feeling pretty pleased with herself. Especially when Chat dropped down to capture her thighs again, this time lifting her off the ground so he could carry her up to her bedroom with her legs wrapped around his waist. She was impressed that he managed to kiss her all the way there without crashing into anything.

Next thing she knew, he was kneeling on the end of her bed, laying her down with a mix of tenderness and impatience. Once on her back, Chat Noir prowled his way up the bed like a panther while hovering over her with a roguish grin. "Want to rigorously explore the way to get me out of this suit without the magic words?"

"I could steal your miraculous, that would do the trick."

Chat Noir settled down on top of her but shifted his weight to his arms. A clawed finger pushed aside a lock of her hair on her forehead. "Why bother, you already stole my heart."

"You're a smooth operator, Agreste."

He smiled down at her. "Only for you. I love you, Marinette."

"I love you too, Adrien."

Marinette threaded her fingers into Chat Noir's hair, faintly touching his cat ears as they kissed each other with a slow burning passion. She flinched when his claws snagged on her shirt as he tried to wrap his arms around her. "This isn't working."

Chat Noir sat up. "What do you mean?"

"That damn suit, it's hindering snuggles."

"We can't have that." He said with a lopsided smirk as he finished unzipping his costume and attempted to pull his arms free. "Hmm," he mused as he tugged his wrist up, followed by the other, neither being able to escape the confines of his gauntlets. "I don't think this is meant to come off."

"Well, I'm sure we've made more progress than we would have with my Ladybug suit. As far as I can tell there's no zipper at all."

"But what if you need to go to the toilet?"

"It's never happened so far. How about you?"

"Nope, fortunately. Must be a design fault. Maybe kwamis don't pee."

"Ew, you had to go there didn't you."

"Sorry, it was just a thought. I must say I've never taken that level of interest in Plagg's bodily functions."

"I think you just killed the mood."

"Alas, yes."

"So much for Alya's suggestion of kinky time."

"She might consider kwami pee kinky."

Marinette picked up her pillow and whacked him with it. "You're so gross."

"Made you laugh and you'll never look at Alya the same."

"I'm scarred for life, cruel man."

"Ah but you love me, you said as much." Chat Noir claimed as he attempted to lie back with his arms crossed behind his neck but failed due to his current state of clothing. With a shake of his head he called off his transformation and Plagg gave him the evil eye. "What?"

"Humans," Plagg muttered as he whizzed through the air, phasing out the door most likely headed to the fridge.

"I think you offended your kwami."

"What else is new. I'll buy him some exotic cheese and things will be just peachy. Well as peachy as they get with Plagg."

Marinette rolled to her side and Adrien did the same. "Do you really think Alya was convinced that it was you dressed up?"

Adrien shrugged his broad shoulders. "Who knows." He wriggled closer as if preparing to share a secret. "Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing in a very public display could be the solution."

"Or she'll decided I'm getting some side action with Chat."

"We could tell her the truth."

"Adrien we've only just discovered the truth. Let's keep it between us for a while yet."

He picked up her hand and intertwined their fingers. "Okay, it's just frustrating how complicated our lives get at times with having dual identities. It would have been easier if we'd known from the start. We could have been collaborating excuses for our sudden disappearances together."

"We've managed. Besides what would you have said?"

"What people already assumed, we were sneaking off to make out."

"What! Who said that?"

"It was a rumour. People noticed that we often both reappeared about the same time after akuma attacks when we were at school. I just shrugged it off. Besides Chloe was quick to challenge that theory."

"I'll bet she was."

"I can't believe her name alone still riles you up."

"She was horrible to me at school for a long time. Unlike you, she thought I was scum."

"No, she was insecure. From what I could tell she envied you. Thankfully she grew up and realised her mistake."

Marinette eyed him suspiciously. "Have you told her we're together now?"

Adrien looked away. "Not yet."

"Why is that I wonder?"

* * *

 **Sorry for the long gap with updating this story, had a major case of writers block for this chapter but I had a lot of laughs writing it today. Sorry for any typos etc. I thought it best to post since it's been so long. Thanks for your patience and for the reviews, favourites and follows. Cheers :)**


	13. Chapter 13

_Author's Note: It has been a long, long, long time between updates. Just over a year since the last one to be exact. The reason being that I lost the story notes on how I wanted to finish this one. While I knew the rough direction, I couldn't remember the steps to get there. Now with time, I've decided on a new path to get to the ending. So here we are, with a long due update. I hope you enjoy (although I suspect many a follower will probably need to go back and refresh themselves with the story - sorry!)_

* * *

 _Chapter Thirteen_

Adrien took a moment to consider how to answer Marinette. Green eyes studied their interlaced fingers while he contemplated what to say. He ignored the way her blue gaze was boring into him, awaiting his response. Honestly it was quite simple yet his childhood friend had always been a point of contention with Marinette. "The reason. I haven't informed Chloe of our relationship is because I hardly see her."

A dark eyebrow quirked as Marinette gave him a look of quiet disbelief. "You honestly expect me to buy that?"

"I do," he said shifting closer to his girlfriend. "While Chloe will sometimes blow up my phone with texts and phone calls for the most part she is far too caught up in her own dramas to bother me."

"What about last year? She went with you to one of the Marvel movie premiers."

The model gave her a cynical look. "Do you honestly think Chloe had any interest in seeing one of those movies? She's there to be seen, and what better way of gaining attention than going with her famous friend."

Marinette's lips pressed together in a hard line but she was no longer glaring. "That does sound like something she'd do."

"She was also between boyfriends and wanted to make her ex jealous. I doubt that it worked. While Chloe's always spouted about there being chemistry between us, it was pretty obvious on my part that it was one-sided. Have you seen some of the shots they've got of us together? I look like I'm trying to extricate myself from a boa constrictor."

At that Marinette laughed. "Yeah, pretty much like our school days."

"Exactly. I've never been attracted to Chloe and I never will be." A slow smirk spread across his lips. "Although seeing you riled up with jealously is kind of hot."

Blue eyes glowered at him, yet the look was ruined by the smile stealing across her face. "Your Chat Noir is showing again."

Adrien glanced down at himself. "Nope, no tight black leather. You wanted to get me out of my costume anyway." Again, she cracked up as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I am irresistible, there are magazines out there which say as much."

"And not conceited at all." Marinette snorted.

"No, I'm all modesty and the like."

Rolling to her back, Marinette shook her head at her boyfriend's sarcasm. "I'd slap you but you'd enjoy it too much."

This time it was Adrien's turn to laugh. "As long as it's playful slaps and not a full out uppercut. I know how hard you can punch, milady."

"I've only punched you hard when you've been brainwashed by akumas, even then I try not to hurt you."

"Sure, sure. Admit it, you secretly enjoy taking your frustrations out on me."

She pouted, "Not really. But there were times when you'd been overly flirty and I had taken some miniscule satisfaction from smacking you down a peg."

"I knew it," he chuckled as he drew her hand to his lips and kissed her soft skin. "Wicked woman."

"It was when you were being obnoxious," she whined in her own defence.

Adrien rolled himself over her, straddling her hips with his knees as he grinned down at her. "You know what would have shut me up with much more efficiency?"

Marinette's eyebrows lifted with mock curiosity. "I can't imagine."

"Kisses. On the mouth. Slow hot passionate kisses." Placing his hands on the mattress either side of her, Adrien dipped his head down to trail the tip of his nose along the length of hers.

"I beg to differ. That would have only egged you on to misbehave."

A throaty chuckle sounded from her partner. "You're probably right."

"So, slapping you is the much more productive solution."

"Mm," he rumbled as he continued to hover over her. Marinette was distracted by the taunt lines of his arms, displaying his muscle definition as they braced the weight of his body. All the while, Adrien continued to study her with his heated gaze. "But not as fun as kissing."

"You have kissing on the brain."

"I'm near you, I can't help it."

She understood the sentiment. "Well, I'm apparently irresistible too. I just don't have the magazine declaration to prove it."

Adrien smirked. "Maybe not, but how about my endorsement?"

"I suppose that'll do."

With that, the model lowered his head and kissed his girlfriend. Her hands lifted to glide into his hair, holding him close as their mouths moved together in languid ardour. Adrien sank down over her, settling in for a long session of making out when his phone pinged with a reminder. A groan escaped him but Marinette continued to kiss him.

"I better check that," he uttered between the press of their lips.

One of her legs hooked over his. "Do you have to?"

"Yeah, remember I had to schedule some photoshoots with Nathalie? Well, one of them was only an hour and a half after your presentation."

Marinette groaned as she released him, dropping her leg and arms to the mattress.

"I'm sorry."

Blue eyes rolled. "And here I was thinking your schedule wasn't nearly as crazy."

"It's not. But the next couple of days are busy."

"Great," she grumbled.

"I promised you Valentine's Day and that won't change." Adrien picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. The apology in his green depths was enough to have her disapproval crumbling. Honestly, those eyes were her undoing when he gazed at her with any sort of intensity.

The dark-haired girl gave a resigned nod. "Okay. But it better be something special." She emphasised her point with a poke at his chest.

Cocking his head to the side, Adrien gave her a smile that warmed her very soul. "Don't worry, it will be."

Marinette couldn't help but wonder what he had planned. The promise he'd made had been of a homecooked meal and a movie. That in itself was nothing fancy but then this was Adrien. The man was a romantic. She could imagine scatterings of rose petals and the illumination of candles.

While her mind wandered, Adrien pushed himself up off the mattress and to his feet. Holding out his hand, he helped her up and tugged her into his arms. "I'm sorry I can't stay longer. I really wanted to."

She smiled into his shoulder. "I wanted you to as well."

"I'd promise no interruptions but Hawkmoth tends to bother us at the most inconvenient times."

Returning his smirk, Marinette rose to her tiptoes and placed a peck on his lips. "I'll consider it a promise with an out clause."

"That's most generous of you, milady."

"Isn't it just." Again, they got caught up in staring at each other. Eventually, Marinette shoved him back with a playful twinkle in her eyes. "Go, you don't want to evoke the wrath of Nathalie, or worse your father."

A visible shudder went through Adrien, though it was more for show than anything. "Heaven forbid, however," he turned with a smug look on his face, "the old man approves of you as my girlfriend. Even invited you over for dinner in like two months. He's busy until then."

Placing a hand over her heart, Marinette gave him a teasing look. "I'm humbled to be bestowed such an honour."

"I think he was glad to finally discover that I'm not asexual."

At that Marinette burst out laughing so hard she held here belly. "You, asexual? Now that's hilarious!"

"I'm almost certain he was ready to add another clause to Nathalie's contract stating she needed to bare an heir for him since I've supposedly shown little interest in anyone. Particularly those of a breeding age that are female."

"Oh my gosh, you're kidding me, right?"

"This is my father, the Agreste name must live on." Adrien added with pomp and followed with an eyeroll.

"You're in your early twenties, it's not like you're pushing forty."

"I know but this is my father we're talking about. I don't even try to understand his logic anymore. It's far too cold and calculating for my liking."

"He does know you've dated, right?"

"Half the time I think he's hardly aware that I'm breathing. As long as I jump when told, he's satisfied.

"He really is a knob."

"That is undoubtable. And now, I better go. Plagg!"

The black kwami zipped into the room with an unimpressed expression on his face. "What? Aren't you two still busy with the face gnawing and body pawing? I was in the middle of a brilliant dream."

"It's time for us to go."

"Bah, always when I'm in my happy place." Plagg grumbled as he crossed his arms.

Tikki floated in. "Don't believe for a second that he needs more cheese, he ate a whole wheel of camembert after you dropped your transformation."

"Tattletale," Plagg sniped at his counterpart.

"Glutton."

"Goody two-shoes."

"Slob."

Plagg cracked a grin and opened his mouth to counter but was cut off by Adrien.

"Claws out!"

The black kwami wailed in annoyance as he was sucked into the ring miraculous while Tikki giggled.

"That shut him up," she smirked.

Chat Noir stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders. "No doubt he'll be grumpy when I drop my transformation but that's nothing new."

Marinette reached up to trace the edge of her partner's mask, still amazed at how different her boyfriend looked in his superhero guise. Those feline eyes gazed at her with adoration as she touched him. The rumble of his voice made her jump. "You're going to make me want to miss my appointment."

Dropping her hand, she cradled his chin. "I wouldn't want to tarnish your reputation as a professional."

The flash of Chat's perfect teeth showed with his grin. "It would be worth it."

Shaking her head, Marinette gave him a quick kiss goodbye. One that lingered far longer than intended as Chat Noir wrapped her in his arms, almost as if he didn't want to let her go.

"Valentine's Day," she reminded him as she gently pushed on his chest.

Feline ears turned back slightly as he nodded. "Until then," he gave her one last kiss for good measure and stepped away. "I love you," he stated as he reached the door.

"Love you too," she replied as he backed out the door and waved goodbye.

* * *

While Marinette didn't see Adrien over the following days, he did ring and message her when he could. For the first time in ages, she found herself wanting there to be an akuma attack just so she could see her partner.

Alya had been teasing her nonstop about her supposed Chat Noir fetish. Claiming she had no idea her straight-laced friend was into such things. Then of course she asked where Adrien had gotten the costume because it looked so much like the original. Marinette merely reminded her best friend of who Adrien's father was.

From there Alya had gone on and on about the pictures of Ladybug and Chat Noir trending on the internet. A few showed the duo in close proximity, eyeing each other with appreciation. The tags claimed there was a definite change in their dynamic, being a shift towards romance. While there was nothing concrete, the images had Alya speculating.

"I bet they're secretly already a couple," she beamed. "I mean it's reasonable for them to want to hide such from Hawkmoth.

"I suppose," Marinette replied as she sipped her coffee. Not wanting to protest too much nor encourage.

Alya zoomed into one particular photo. "Look, Chat Noir clearly has his hand on her hip and Ladybug has her hand on his shoulder. That's not something they normally do."

"You really need the context to know exactly what was going on."

"I guess," Alya sighed. "Everyone can see they'd make a great couple, even Chat Noir but it's Ladybug who refuses to take the next step. Almost as if she refuses to see him in that way."

Holding her mug in both hands, Marinette considered what to say. There was truth in her best friend's words. Up until recently Ladybug had rebuffed the idea of being with Chat Noir. "She's always wanted to protect him."

"Yeah, but there's a major flaw in that logic."

Marinette raised an eyebrow in query.

"Not knowing each other's identities means that neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir would know if anything bad happened to their alter egos. We know both are tough as nails when transformed but they are only human when they're not. For example, if Chat Noir were killed in a car accident tomorrow while out of costume, Ladybug would never know."

"That's awfully morbid," Marinette said while trying to hide her sudden pang of grief at the thought. The idea of losing her partner in such a way and not knowing would have been unbearable prior to learning his identity but now it was even worse. The scenario made her realise just how much she loved him, all of him.

Alya seemed to notice her sombre change of mood. "I'm sure that will never happen. I mean they're both superheroes for a reason."

Somehow, the dark-haired girl managed a crooked smile. "Yeah. It's just depressing to think about."

"I know, I'm sorry. You know me, I go off on these tangents without thinking." Alya sank back in her chair and looked out the window. "Still, I can't help but hope that Ladybug and Chat Noir are finally in love with each other."

Following her friend's gaze to the clouds outside, Marinette couldn't resist adding, "Miraculous things happen."

* * *

 **Will Marinette resist the temptation to visit her boyfriend prior to their Valentine's date? Especially after Alya's dark thoughts? Find out next chapter.**

 **I must say a big thank you for being so patient. As always your support is much appreciated :)**


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